Placer.ai: Department stores, specialty retailers have strongest Super Saturday performance
Super Saturday had several winners as consumers flocked to retail for last-minute holiday shopping needs.
According to new data from Placer.ai, malls, department stores, apparel chains, sporting goods retailers and more all saw massive jumps in traffic on Dec. 21 (the last Saturday before Christmas), compared to the year-to-date daily average.
“Super Saturday visitation data provides valuable insights into consumer behavior as the holidays approach,” said R.J. Hottovy, head of analytical research at Placer.ai. “While value has been a primary focus for much of 2024, consumers are still willing to spend on discretionary items, as shown by the relative strength and visits to beauty and self care stores, department stores, and sporting goods retailers.”
[READ MORE: Placer.ai: Seven retail trends to watch in 2025]
By retail category, department stores and recreational & sporting goods retailers saw the largest increase in visits on Super Saturday compared to the year-to-date daily average, seeing huge jumps of 287% and 224% respectively. Beauty & self care retailers (197%), clothing retailers (152%) and electronics stores (106.6%) all saw triple-digit increases in traffic compared to the year-to-date average.
Broken down by retailer, some chains did better than others. In what Placer.ai defines as the “specialty” store category, Dick’s Sporting Goods (472.9%), Ulta Beauty (306.2%) and Best Buy (230.8%) saw huge increases in Super Saturday visits compared to the year-to-date average.
Department stores saw the largest increases of any sector, with Dillard’s (463.4%) and Macy’s (439.4%) seeing the largest visit gains compared to the year-to-date average. Nordstrom (329.8%), Kohl’s (307.6%) and Neiman Marcus (300.7%) were right behind.
Among the off-price retailers, all of the big players had a strong Super Saturday performance. T.J. Maxx led the way at a 244.2% increase compared to the year-to-date average, followed by Marshalls (232.9%), Nordstrom Rack (225.8%), Burlington (212%), Ross Dress for Less (176.5%) and HomeGoods (163.8%).
As for the big box retailers, Target (182.8%), Tractor Supply Co. (118.8%) and Sam’s Club (103.2%) had the highest increases compared to the year-to-date average. When compared to the visit average of the previous six Saturdays, all big box retailers besides home improvement giants Home Depot (-14.4%) and Lowe’s (-10.8%) saw visits increase.
Placer.ai found that mall visits were up across all three segments on Dec. 21. Compared to the year-to-date daily average, outlet malls saw a 192% increase in visits, while indoor malls saw a 177% increase and open-air shopping centers saw a 105.8% rise. Compared to the average of the previous six Saturdays, visits to outlet malls and indoor malls increased a similar amount (42.2% and 44.2% respectively), while open-air shopping centers saw a nearly 29% rise.
Ethan Chernofsky, senior VP of marketing at Placer.ai, said that the largest increases in retail store visits on Super Saturday is a testament to how the retail landscape is continuing to evolve.
“The success [of Super Saturday] is the latest reminder that the traditional perspective of a single, homogenous holiday season with Black Friday as its center has quickly evolved into a far more nuanced season with multiple peaks that provide specific benefits to different types of retail during different periods of the season,” he said.
