Super Saturday, one of the busiest retail days of the year, will see nearly half of Americans shop, survey says

A new survey released by the International Council of Shopping Centers shows that nearly half of all Americans plan to shop for gifts Saturday, one of the busiest retail days of the year.

Approximately 111 million, or 44 percent of Americans, will make purchases this Saturday. According to the survey, 55 percent of millennials, 52 percent of “Gen X” shoppers and 33 percent of baby boomers are planning to buy holiday gifts this Saturday.

When asked to give a reason for shopping Saturday, the most popular answer was “to take advantage of deals and promotions,” with 43 percent of respondents, according to ICSC. This was followed by “still having more people to buy gifts for” (42 percent), “buying additional gifts for people” (35 percent), procrastination of holiday shopping (30 percent) and being “too busy beforehand” (22 percent).

The average amount that “Super Saturday” shoppers plan to spend on gifts is about $173, according to the survey.

85 percent of shoppers will go to brick-and-mortar stores to buy last minute gifts, according to ICSC.

39 percent of shoppers will make purchases online to pick up in-store, and of those shoppers, 66 percent will make additional purchases when they go to pick up their items, the survey said.

67 percent of shoppers said they plan to buy gift cards as part of their shopping.

The following days will be busy as well, with 35 percent of shoppers heading to stores on Dec. 23 and 24 percent shopping on Christmas Eve.

This story was originally published December 21, 2018 at 7:59 PM.