ShopperTrak: December 2012

Total U.S. Shopper Traffic in Retail Stores and Malls for December 2012



Holiday shopping reached its seasonal peak in December, driving a 36.6 percent retail foot traffic increase over November. Further, December 2012 continued a trend of year-over-year improvements in the number of shoppers visiting stores with a 1.2 percent increase in foot traffic when compared to the same month last year.



December 2012 offered an extra weekend of holiday shopping before Christmas. As a result, many consumers procrastinated in finishing their holiday shopping. However, the last few days before Christmas were very busy. ShopperTrak estimates that “Super Saturday,” Dec. 22, was the second-busiest foot traffic day of the holiday season. Only “Black Friday” (Nov. 23) was busier. Additionally, Sunday, Dec. 23, was the fourth-busiest traffic day.



The day after Christmas saw less year-over-year retail foot traffic and ShopperTrak estimates that it was the eighth-busiest shopper traffic day of the holidays. Dec. 26 fell on a Monday in 2011, forming a long weekend that many consumers used to shop. In 2012, the date fell on a Wednesday so many potential shoppers returned to work instead of heading to the malls.



With the holiday season of November and December at an end, ShopperTrak estimates foot traffic will return to pre-holiday levels.

ShopperTrak's data and analyses in this article are based on counting billions of shoppers in more than 50,000 locations across 74 countries. ShopperTrak is a leading retail technology company that anonymously counts people, analyzes data and identifies opportunities to increase revenue for retailers, mall developers and entertainment venues. Find out more at http://www.shoppertrak.com.