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Holiday shoppers flocked to Super Saturday on December 18, but foot traffic was not as heavy as it was during the pre-pandemic period.
Gabby Jones / Bloomberg
Last minute holiday shoppers were plentiful on Super Saturday as it was the last weekend before Christmas. But the turnout was pale compared to Black Friday.
Pedestrian traffic to stores increased 19.4% on Dec. 18 from 2020, according to The data published Monday by Sensormatic Solutions, which follows in the footsteps with cameras placed in stores. Compare that to Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, when foot traffic increased 47.5% from last year.
Foot traffic was still sharply down from the pre-pandemic 2019 period, down 26.3% on Super Saturday and 28.3% less on Black Friday, according to data from Sensormatic.
It is not clear whether the slowdown is due to concerns about the Omicron variant or other factors, such as consumers starting holiday shopping earlier this year due to inflation fears. Investors will see additional sales data and foot traffic figures on Tuesday to determine if the November sales slowdown has crept into December. Retail sales were up 0.3% month-over-month in November, a slowdown from October’s 1.8% gain and below expectations of an increase of 0.8 %.
Super Saturday online sales were also higher than last year, according to data from Adobe Analytics. Online sales totaled $ 2.4 billion, up 13.3%, matching the research firm’s expectations.
Some retailers are relying heavily on last minute consumption to meet fourth quarter sales expectations.
Best buy
(ticker: BBY) closed 4.3% lower on Monday at $ 95.77, its lowest close since July 2020, when it was $ 90.28, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The title is down 4% since the start of the year; on the pace of its worst year since 2018, when it fell 22.6%.
Retailer
Nike
(NKE) rose 3.3% in after-hours trading on Monday after reporting second-quarter sales and profits that beat Wall Street expectations.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 433 points, or 1.2%, on Monday, and the S&P 500 fell 1.1% as Omicom Covid-19 cases rise and the Federal Reserve quickly removes monetary support. Retail inventories were generally down. The S&P consumer discretionary sector is down about 6% this month, its worst month since March 2020, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
Write to Logan Moore at [email protected]
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