Super Saturday – Strategic Insight 📊

As we approach Super Saturday, a key retail milestone, the BBI Analytics Team found invaluable insights from a recent report by RIS News. The report, authored by Grant Gustafson, Head of Retail Consulting and Analytics at Sensormatic Solutions, provides actionable strategies for retailers preparing for the bustling Super Saturday shopping experience, which is just two days before the Christmas holiday this year.

According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), nearly 142 million consumers plan to shop on the last Saturday of December 23 before Christmas.

To optimize Super Saturday operations, the advice is for retailers to:

Review Staffing Plans:

• Ensure adequate staffing to accommodate increased foot traffic.
• Utilize power hour reports to identify peak hours and align coverage accordingly.

Refine the Point-of-Sale (POS) Experience:

• Implement mobile POS options for efficient check-out processes.
• Schedule mobile POS use around peak traffic periods.
• Prioritize training, role-playing, and nightly charging processes for associates.

Leverage Item-Level Inventory Accuracy:

• Ensure merchandise availability for last-minute shoppers.
• Consider cycle counting high-demand items for accurate on-hand counts

Get More Value from Systems:

• Explore features in connected systems (computer vision, EAS, merchandise protection) to enhance operations.
• Use computer vision to monitor camera feeds for in-store incidents and gather shopper insights.

These strategies, tailored to unique retailer needs, aim to enhance the Super Saturday experience. As outlined by Grant Gustafson, these efforts should be complemented by a dive into historical data and real-time analytics tools.

Retailers can review previous Super Saturdays alongside data from the day before Christmas Eve to form precise estimates of expected crowds and identify evolving trends.

It's important to note that trends may vary by location, brand, and specialty. As the holiday season progresses, real-time analytics tools can offer continuous insights, allowing retailers to adapt labor allocation, merchandising programs, and more.