Malls see an 11% traffic surge on Super Saturday, downtowns experience a fall-off
Mall Santas got more lap-time on Super Saturday than did downtown Santas, who got more time to feed the reindeer.
Traffic at malls rose by 11.3% on Dec. 21 compared to the previous Saturday, while store populations in downtown stores were lighter by 13.6% week-over-week, according to MRI Software, which records more than 600 million pedestrian traffic counts at 3,350 shopping locations.
During the week leading up to Super Saturday, malls took in 20% more customers than they did the week before, while shoppers at downtown locations increased by 1.1%.
Much of the uplift in downtowns occurred midweek, where foot traffic levels rose by an average of 19.9% on Tuesday and Wednesday compared to the week before. In shopping malls, foot traffic peaked from Tuesday through Thursday by an average of 27%.
Compared to Super Saturday 2023, however, traffic at both types of locations fell off slightly, by 4.4% in downtowns and 1.6% in malls.
“As the final two trading days before Christmas get underway, retailers should be prepared for a surge in in-store activity, especially if the Amazon delivery strikes continue,” said Jenni Matthews, MRI’s marketing and insights director. “These days will be key in closing out the year on a positive note for retail stores and destinations, especially in the days that follow Christmas Day as shoppers look to grab post-Christmas bargains, and enjoy the final days of the festive markets and leisure activities with friends and family."
A survey conducted by the National Retail Federation estimated that 157 million people planned to shop on Super Saturday, up from 142 million in 2023, when there was a longer time span between Super Saturday and Christmas Day.
“As with last year, over half of consumers expect they will complete their shopping in the week leading up to the Christmas holiday,” said NRF’s executive VP of strategy Phil Rist.
