The busiest in-store holiday shopping day of 2023 will be…
Retailers need to make sure their stores are ready for some key dates in November and December.
Black Friday (Nov. 24) is expected to be the busiest shopping day of the 2023 holiday season, followed by Super Saturday (Dec. 23) and the third Saturday in Dec. (Dec. 16), according to an analysis from the retail traffic consulting and analytics group of Sensormatic Solutions, a Johnson Controls company
[Read more: Do shoppers still care about Black Friday?]
On average, the top 10 busiest shopping days in the United States account for approximately 40% of all holiday retail traffic. With Christmas Day falling on a Monday this year, Sensormatic data indicates the busiest days of the season are likely to be more concentrated toward the end of the year due to this timing.
The company also expects Veterans’ Day to experience higher traffic than usual this year as it falls on a Saturday and history indicates a traffic bump when it does so.
Sensormatic predicts U.S. in-store traffic will likely moderate slightly compared to 2022, with forecasts indicating a year-over-year drop of no more than 3.5% — results that are in line with 2023’s retail traffic performance to date. Overall, Sensormatic analysis indicates that store traffic this year has been down an average of 2% from 2022.
The full list of predicted busiest shopping days in the U.S. is as follows:
- Friday, Nov. 24 – Black Friday
- Saturday, Dec. 23 – Super Saturday
- Saturday, Dec. 16 – Third Saturday in December
- Friday, Dec. 22 – Friday before Christmas
- Saturday, Nov. 25 – Saturday after Black Friday
- Tuesday, Dec. 26 – Boxing Day
- Saturday, Dec. 9 – Second Saturday in December
- Saturday, Dec. 2 – First Saturday in December
- Saturday, Dec. 30 – Saturday after Christmas
- Sunday, Dec. 17 – Sunday before Christmas Eve
Sensormatic also expects Veterans’ Day to experience higher traffic than usual as it falls on a Saturday and history indicates a traffic bump when it does so.
“Retailers around the world are likely to have another strong holiday season this year,” said Tony D’Onofrio, president at Sensormatic Solutions. “Those looking to make the most of it can use our predictions as a guide—but it’s critical that retailers also leverage internal data and analytics tools to refine their approach to promotions, staffing, and customer experience in November and December. It’s this additional insight that will put businesses two steps ahead entering the New Year.”