Super Saturday was neither a blockbuster nor a blooper.

Reports pouring in from trade organizations and tech corporations show that traffic levels were flat or behind those of Super Saturdays in 2021 and 2019, though this yr’s turnout was still huge, with steepening markdowns and favorable weather encouraging people to get out and shop for gifts.

Placer.ai, a location analytics firm that gives foot traffic data, found that indoor malls, outlet malls and open-air lifestyle centers all saw traffic levels fall below Super Saturday last yr and Super Saturday in 2019.

Nonetheless, in comparison with the typical traffic of the six previous Saturdays this yr, all three of those retail sectors were double-digits ahead, reflecting a buildup in shopping as Christmas nears.

Sensormatic, which provides solutions for inventory management and loss control, found that shopper traffic on Super Saturday was up 0.2 percent in comparison with 2021. The firm’s findings indicate that in comparison with the previous two Saturdays, Dec. 3 and 10, Super Saturday shopper visits increased by 36 percent and 17 percent, respectively.

The ICSC last Saturday took a survey of 1,012 U.S. consumers and estimated that 73 percent — 189 million people — shopped that day. That’s way greater than the 158 million estimated by the National Retail Federation, which surveyed 7,857 consumers from Dec. 1 to 7, along with Prosper Insights & Analytics.

“Shoppers frequented stores on Super Saturday, aiming to get the most effective deals and ensuring they get their gifts on time before the vacations. While inflation and price concerns are still impacting where and the way consumers buy gifts, they’re still spending, particularly at physical stores,” Tom McGee, president and chief executive officer of the ICSC, said Tuesday. “We expect last-minute shopping to proceed this week and anticipate a powerful conclusion to the holiday season.”  

It needs to be noted that survey results from different sources vary because methodologies differ, depending on the scale of the survey samples, the questions asked, and the timing.

This yr, Super Saturday traffic and shopping were limited by early holiday marketing pulling sales into October and November, and away from some key days like Black Friday later within the season.

As well as, high inflation on nondiscretionary categories, particularly food and residential energy costs, impacted Super Saturday, and there’s a trend toward consumers purchasing more on experiences, like travel and restaurants, and fewer on stuff. It’s also vital to notice that last yr was a powerful holiday season at retail, making this yr’s comparisons tough.

Generally, Super Saturday (Dec. 17 this yr) fell according to expectations and did little to vary the uncertainty and caution pervading the industry. The subsequent few days are crucial, with significant last-minute shopping anticipated, though to date retailers for essentially the most part are OK with the extent of holiday business they’ve had. There’s also an additional Saturday this yr, with Christmas Day falling on Sunday, which should give retailers a late lift.

Placer.ai, which uses technology to observe traffic, reported that almost all retail venues saw negative traffic on Super Saturday this yr versus last yr. Indoor malls were down 4.6 percent; outlet centers were down 2.6 percent, and open-air lifestyle centers were minus 7.3 percent, in line with Placer.ai.

In comparison with Super Saturday 2019, indoor malls were down 14.8 percent; outlet malls were down 12.6 percent, and open-air lifestyle centers were down 17.5 percent, Placer.ai reported.

Nonetheless, Super Saturday did see a surge in traffic in comparison with the past six Saturdays of this yr’s holiday season, with indoor malls up 34.5 percent; outlets up 33.2 percent, and open-air lifestyle centers up 21.7 percent, reflecting the final trend in 2022 toward more shopping at physical stores.

In other Placer.ai traffic statistics on Super Saturday this yr versus 2021:

“Super Saturday presented a continuation of a trend seen in recent months — a more prolonged holiday season limits the peaks of any specific day,” said Ethan Chernofsky, vice chairman of selling at Placer.ai. “Most categories and chains analyzed saw visits down in comparison with each 2021 and a pre-pandemic 2019, though there are significant extenuating circumstances. The gap of Super Saturday to Christmas is very important. There’s much more time for shopping ahead of the vacation and ample evidence that the shortage of major doorbuster deals limits the urgency on any specific day. As well as, as seen earlier in the vacation period, minor year-over-year declines may very well be offset by more significant visits. Whether it’s due to larger basket sizes or prolonged discovery in an offline environment driving online sales, the magnitude of visits is clearly different than what it was a yr ago, and particularly in comparison with pre-pandemic. Finally, it’s critical to notice that Super Saturday, like Black Friday, still drove massive visit peaks for many chains and categories examined. The important thing takeaway is that like many other retail holidays, while the relative peak could have declined, the general importance continues to be massive. 

“Yet there are chains and segments that did overperform. Ulta continued to indicate its strength, and the strength of the broader beauty category, with visits up in comparison with each 2021 and 2019. Off-price retail leaders like T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and Ross also saw visits up year-over-year, with others within the category either seeing similar growth or visits at nearly the identical level as a yr prior… Finally, the discount and dollar segment saw growth likely driven by the draw of their value orientation and wide product array ahead of the vacation.”

In other Super Saturday statistics from the ICSC, 71 percent of shoppers spent money on holiday gifts, while 40 percent spent on dining and 22 percent spent on entertainment. 

The number-one reason consumers shopped on Super Saturday was to reap the benefits of deals and promotions for lower prices (39 percent), followed by still having more people to purchase gifts for (37 percent) and buying additional gifts for people (33 percent).  

Seventy percent of consumers shopped in a store on Super Saturday, while 29 percent shopped at Amazon or other pure-play online retailers, and 90 percent said inflation impacted their shopping that day, in line with the ICSC.

Shoppers identified the bottom prices (51 percent), in-stock products (46 percent), and ease of checkout (36 percent) as the first aspects in selecting where to buy.  

Fifty percent of shoppers took advantage of shopping for online and picking up in-store.  Fifty-four percent of shoppers noted they spent greater than they planned.