Final Weekend Rush Puts 159 Million Shoppers in Stores and Online

A record 158.9 million consumers are expected to shop on Super Saturday this year, making the final Saturday before Christmas the biggest single shopping day of the 2025 holiday season. For retailers, that means a powerful last chance to drive sales both in-store and online as shoppers race to complete their lists.

Super Saturday sets a new record

According to the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics, an estimated 158.9 million consumers plan to shop on Super Saturday, up from 157.2 million last year and beating the previous 158.5 million record set in 2022. The data confirms that even with weeks of early promotions, many shoppers still rely on the final weekend before December 25 to secure gifts and holiday essentials.

Super Saturday lands just five days before Christmas this year, heightening its importance for both procrastinators and bargain seekers. NRF Vice President of Industry and Consumer Insights Katherine Cullen said, “As the final Saturday before Dec. 25, Super Saturday is a significant shopping event for both consumers and retailers.”

How and where consumers will shop

Shoppers are set to embrace hybrid behavior, moving fluidly between channels. Nearly 71.6 million (45%) plan to shop both in-store and online, up from 69.5 million (44%) in 2024. Another 46.2 million (29%) will stick to brick-and-mortar only, while 41.1 million (26%) plan to shop exclusively online.

Top shopping destinations highlight how shoppers are mixing discovery and value:

46% plan to shop online.
33% will head to department stores.
26% will visit discount stores.

When it comes to what is already in their carts, the leading gift categories include:

Clothing and accessories at 48%.
Toys at 30%.
Gift cards at 27%.
Books, music, movies, video games, and other media at 25%.
Personal care and beauty items at 23%.

Why are so many still shopping

As of early December, consumers had completed just over 51% of their holiday shopping on average, leaving plenty of unfinished lists heading into Super Saturday. Among those who still had more than half their items to buy, the top reasons were:

33% are still deciding what to purchase.
25% had other financial priorities before December.
23% were waiting to hear what friends and family actually wanted.

Experiential gifts continue to grow in appeal as shoppers focus on memory-making. Prosper Insights & Analytics Executive Vice President of Strategy Phil Rist said that “Along with tangible items, gifts of experience continue to be a popular choice for people looking to create memories with loved ones. Three in 10 shoppers (31%) plan to give an experience this year, such as art classes or tickets to an event. This figure has grown in popularity over the past 10 years, when only 22% of shoppers expected to give an experience in 2015.”

The holiday season extends past December 25

The spending momentum will not stop on Christmas Day. Around 70% of consumers plan to shop in the week immediately after December 25, driven by post-holiday promotions and gift card use. Key motivations include taking advantage of holiday sales and promotions (45%) and using gift cards (26%).

Overall, NRF defines the holiday season as running from November 1 through December 31 and forecasts that total holiday spending will top $1 trillion for the first time, with growth between 3.7% and 4.2% over 2024. The survey behind these figures captured responses from 8,005 adult consumers between December 1–10, with a margin of error of plus or minus 1.1 percentage points.

For retailers, the message is clear: Super Saturday is not just a last-minute scramble, but a record-setting opportunity at the center of a holiday season that is bigger and longer than ever.