- Super Saturday is expected to be the busiest UK in-store shopping day of peak trading in 2021
- Sensormatic Solutions full predictions include top busiest peak trading shopping days for Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, United Kingdom and United States
- Heading into the second Christmas season of the COVID-19 pandemic, in-store UK retail traffic fiscal year to-date is down -37.7% compared to 2019 pre-pandemic levels
- Sensormatic Solutions is helping retailers solve complex challenges related to consumer confidence, health and safety as part of Johnson Controls’ mission

NEUHAUSEN, Switzerland—September 29 2021—Sensormatic Solutions, the leading global retail solutions portfolio of Johnson Controls, today announced that Super Saturday is expected to be the busiest shopping day of the 2021 UK peak trading period. The annual predictions for the global top busiest shopper traffic days are informed by retail traffic data analytics within the company’s intelligent operating platform, Sensormatic IQ.
The predicted busiest in-store shopping days in the UK are as follows:
- Saturday, 18th December – Super Saturday (the last Saturday before Christmas)
- Thursday, 23rd December – Day Before Christmas Eve
- Saturday, 11th December – 2nd Saturday in December
- Saturday, 27th November – Saturday after Black Friday
- Saturday, 4th December – 3rd Saturday before Christmas
Super Saturday, the last Saturday before Christmas, is expected to be the busiest in-store shopping day of the entire peak trading period in the UK - last year Brits spent an estimated £1.6billion on Super Saturday, as they hit the high street to buy gifts in-store.
Whilst traditional spikes to footfall are predicted to take place on Super Saturday and on 23 December (the day before Christmas Eve) in the UK, high street footfall will shift earlier in December, as shoppers make a bid to get ahead with gift buying. With many retailers already warning of Christmas stock shortages due to ongoing supply chain disruption caused by the pandemic and Brexit, consumers are expected to shop earlier than usual to avoid out-of-stocks and shelf gaps. Original research of over 1,000 UK shoppers by Sensormatic showed that 79% will start Christmas shopping before the beginning of December, the traditional start of Advent – and just 9% will leave it until December to begin making festive purchases.
“While COVID-19 is still making headlines as we head into peak trading, vaccine availability and retailers’ health and safety measures have put us in a different place with many consumers more comfortable shopping in stores compared to the 2020 Christmas shopping season,” said Bjoern Petersen, president at Sensormatic Solutions. “Through this busy time, retailers can lean heavily on innovative technology to keep shelves stocked, predict and prevent loss events and keep customers safe through occupancy monitoring and resulting social distancing. Leveraging prescriptive insights provided by connected solutions, retailers can also ensure they’re reaching the right consumer with the right item at the right time throughout the season.”
“Our predicted busiest days mark the peaks of in-store traffic, but we expect that like last year, consumers will start their shopping earlier to offset inventory limitations, shipping delays and ongoing concerns about social distancing,” said Andy Sumpter, Sensormatic Solutions’ Retail Consultant for EMEA, whose team predicts the top busiest days of the peak trading period.
The additional predicted top busiest shopping days globally include:
Australia
- Sunday, December 26 – Boxing Day
- Thursday, December 23 – day before Christmas Eve
- Wednesday, December 22 – two days before Christmas Eve
- Saturday, December 18 – Super Saturday
- Monday, December 27 – Christmas Day observed (state holiday in most states)
Brazil
- Friday, November 26 – Black Friday
- Saturday, November 27 – Saturday after Black Friday
- Saturday, December 18 – Super Saturday
- Thursday, December 23 – day before Christmas Eve
- Wednesday, December 22 – two days before Christmas Eve
Canada
- Friday, November 26 – Black Friday
- Sunday, December 26 – Boxing Day
- Saturday, November 27 – Saturday after Black Friday
- Saturday, December 18 – Super Saturday
- Saturday, December 11 – 2nd Saturday in December
China
- Saturday, October 9 – Saturday after national holiday
- Saturday, January 1 – New Year's Day
- Saturday, November 13
- Saturday, November 27
- Sunday, October 10 – Sunday after national holiday
Colombia
- Sunday, December 19 – Super Sunday
- Thursday, December 23 – day before Christmas Eve
- Saturday, November 27 – Saturday after Black Friday
- Saturday, December 18 – Super Saturday
- Wednesday, December 22 – two days before Christmas Eve
France
- Saturday, January 15 – First Saturday of les soldes d'hiver
- Saturday, December 18 – Super Saturday
- Saturday, January 22 – Second Saturday of les soldes d'hiver
- Saturday, December 11 – 2nd Saturday in December
- Saturday, November 27 – Saturday after Black Friday
Germany
- Saturday, December 11 – 2nd Saturday in December
- Saturday, November 27 – Saturday after Black Friday
- Saturday, December 18 – Super Saturday
- Saturday, December 4 – 3rd Saturday before Christmas
- Friday, November 26 – Black Friday
Italy
- Thursday, January 6 – Epiphany
- Saturday, January 8 – Saturday after Epiphany
- Sunday, January 9 – Sunday after Epiphany
- Saturday, November 27 – Saturday after Black Friday
- Friday, November 26 – Black Friday
Mexico
- Saturday, November 13 – Saturday before Revolution Day (observed)
- Monday, November 15 – Revolution Day (observed)
- Sunday, November 14 – Sunday before Revolution Day (observed)
- Thursday, December 23 – day before Christmas Eve
- Saturday, December 18 – Super Saturday
New Zealand
- Sunday, December 26 – Boxing Day
- Thursday, December 23 – day before Christmas Eve
- Saturday, December 18 – Super Saturday
- Friday, November 26 – Black Friday
- Wednesday, December 22 – two days before Christmas Eve
Singapore
- Saturday, December 25 – Christmas Day
- Saturday, November 27 – Saturday after Black Friday
- Saturday, December 18 – Super Saturday
- Saturday, December 11 – 2nd Saturday in December
- Friday, December 24 – Christmas Eve
South Africa
- Friday, November 26 – Black Friday
- Saturday, December 18 – Super Saturday
- Saturday, November 27 – Saturday after Black Friday
- Saturday, December 11—2nd Saturday in December
- Thursday, December 23 – day before Christmas Eve
South Korea
- Sunday, November 7 – Sunday during FESTA
- Saturday, November 6 – Saturday during FESTA
- Sunday, November 14 – Sunday during FESTA
- Sunday, December 19 – Sunday before Christmas
- Saturday, December 25 – Christmas Day
Spain
- Sunday, January 2 – First Sunday of 2022
- Monday, January 3 – First Monday of 2022
- Saturday, December 18 – Super Saturday
- Saturday, November 27 – Saturday after Black Friday
- Friday, January 7 – Friday after Epiphany
United States
- Friday, November 26 – Black Friday
- Saturday, December 18 – Super Saturday
- Thursday, December 23 – Thursday before Christmas
- Saturday, December 11 – 2nd Saturday in December
- Sunday, December 26 – Day after Christmas, aka “Boxing Day
Sensormatic Solutions and its intelligent operating platform for retail, Sensormatic IQ, is a vital component of Johnson Controls OpenBlue technologies and innovations which promotes healthy people, healthy places and healthy planet. Sensormatic Solutions is helping retailers solve complex challenges related to consumer confidence, health and safety as part of its mission.
To learn about the top drivers of this holiday season’s busiest shopping days and how Sensormatic Solutions is supporting retailers’ needs, visit https://www.sensormatic.com/resources/busiest-shopping-days. For more Sensormatic Solutions holiday insights, follow along on LinkedIn and Twitter, using #SensormaticHolidays2021.