This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: ShopperTrak advises retailers on 10 busiest holiday shopping days.
ShopperTrak has identified 22nd December, Super Saturday, as the busiest shopping day of this year's holiday calendar in Europe. Between the 1st November 2012 and 8th January 2013, ShopperTrak predicts that the 22nd December will reach the highest combination of both sales and foot traffic in the UK, with France and Germany set to follow suit.
As the world's largest provider of people counting technology and foot traffic analysis, ShopperTrak is able to harness data from across the European retail landscape. The holiday season 2012 analysis shows that five of the busiest foot traffic days will take place between 20th to 24th December, with shoppers taking advantage of one final weekend before Christmas. The days immediately following the 25th are also a huge opportunity for retailers due to an additional weekend falling between Christmas and New Year.
While holiday shopping patterns differ across Europe, France, Germany and the UK share the same top ten foot traffic days, with only their ranking differing slightly. Spain however, will see its busiest shopping day land on the 5th January 2013 due to the traditional celebration of the Epiphany.
With most people intent on shopping rather than browsing when they venture out in December, retailers must be ready to deliver excellent service to help maximise conversion rates.
Longer working days, with late night openings also require planning in order to ensure that the best staff is on duty to meet demand while optimising operational costs.
"Retailers must prepare to maximise shopper opportunity while managing the increase in operating costs related to keeping stores open for longer during the holiday season", said Todd Starcevich, CEO of ShopperTrak in Europe and the Middle East. "To make the most of late night opening hours, for example, retailers will need to understand and manage their store foot traffic better and focus on increasing shopper-conversion rates to improve sales. It will also be crucial to optimise staffing, scheduling, marketing and advertising with both the holiday calendar and individual store trends in mind."
The following table shows ShopperTrak's forecasted busiest holiday shopping days across Europe between 1st Nov. 2012 and 8th Jan. 2013:
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