Knowing which days during the holiday season will attract the biggest crowds helps retailers allocate labor and other store resources more effectively. This year, Black Friday, Nov. 27, is anticipated to be the top sales day and the busiest traffic day for brick-and-mortar stores during the 2015 holiday season, according to research from ShopperTrak.
This prediction is attributed to the rise of the price-conscious shopper who is motivated by sales and exhibits a growing tendency toward shopping earlier. In addition, Hanukkah begins 10 days earlier in 2015 than it did in 2014, and so is expected to generate November sales at the expense of December.
While in 2014 Black Friday’s in-store sales were outstripped by Super Saturday (Dec. 20), ShopperTrak expects Black Friday to regain its top spot this year due to the trend of more retailers choosing to stay closed on Thanksgiving Day.
Advertisement
Super Saturday, which is on Dec. 19 this year, is expected to be the second-highest sales and traffic day of the season, while Dec. 26 will have the third-most traffic.
ShopperTrak has three recommendations for retailers as they prepare for the holiday season:
-
Plan holiday staffing in advance and drive sales through labor allocation;
-
Reaffirm sales goals with associates and align incentives to drive service and revenue; and
-
Ensure a consistent in-store experience with an optimal shopper-to-associate ratio.
Naturally, there are going to be days throughout the holiday season that don’t perform as well as the major shopping days. ShopperTrak had predicted that Nov. 16 would be the slowest shopping day of the holiday season, with Nov. 11 and Nov. 13 coming in second and third respectively.
As far as handling the slower days throughout the holiday, ShopperTrak provided three additional recommendations to retailers:
-
Move non-selling activities, such as restocking and maintenance, to slower traffic periods;
-
Reallocate labor to ensure coverage and improve conversion during power hours; and
-
Utilize mobile campaigns and marketing resources to increase customer engagement.
Following an increase in sales during the 2015 back-to-school season, ShopperTrak predicts retailers will see a 2.4% increase for the 2015 holiday season.
