Saturday shopping set a single-day sales
record, analyst says
By Lisa Wolfson
Holiday shopping set records over the weekend, with Super
Saturday sales reaching $34.4 billion, the biggest single day in U.S. retail
history, according to Customer Growth Partners.
“Paced by the ‘Big Four’ mega-retailers -- Walmart,
Amazon, Costco and Target -- Super Saturday was boosted by the best traffic our
team has seen in years,” said Craig Johnson, president of the retail research
firm.
Job growth and fatter wallets, along with stronger
household finances, have put consumers in a buying mood this season, Johnson
said. And more of them are shopping online. As retailers offer improved web
platforms, online spending so far this season has accounted for 58% of sales
growth from a year earlier, he said.
Super Saturday’s results topped Black Friday’s $31.2
billion in sales by 10%. The next biggest shopping days were Dec. 14, with
$28.1 billion, and Cyber Monday, with $19.1 billion.
While foot traffic was down at most malls, the conversion
rate, or the percentage of people who go to malls and make a purchase, rose,
Johnson said. Even long-struggling department stores “had their best weekend of
the season,” he said.
...
With
assistance from Matt Townsend.
