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Super Saturday is the last Saturday before Christmas, and its sales weekend may quite possibly be even more important to the apparel industry than Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The holiday season is the most crucial retail sales time of the year, and the Super Saturday weekend in theory provides clothing retailers with the highest sales volume of that season — making it arguably the most important selling time of the year for stores selling clothing, handbags and shoes. Bargain-hunting shoppers flood stores expecting last-minute discounts as retailers work to end the holiday season with lean inventory rather than leftover Christmas sweaters.
The last Saturday before Christmas. See our sales guides for the season’s biggest shopping days.
Holiday Sales HubOK, we thought that Black Friday and Cyber Monday were important. Well, it turns out that Super Saturday may quite possibly be even more important to the apparel industry. If you are selling clothing, handbags, shoes, or any other type of apparel, Super Saturday is extremely important. The Super Saturday sales weekend takes place the last weekend before Christmas. So in theory, this weekend actually provides clothing retailers with the highest sales volume for the holiday season. That is very important when we consider the fact that the holiday season is the most crucial retail sales time of the year. So, holiday is the most important time of the year and Super Saturday is the most important weekend of the holiday season. As we put two and two together we can understand how Super Saturday weekend is the most important time of the year.
However, I wonder if this theory always makes sense. For example, if Christmas falls on a Sunday, does this mean that the Saturday (one day earlier) is the most important selling day? I would imagine most people (not all people) have their shopping done before Christmas Eve day. Does this mean Super Saturday is actually the Saturday from the prior week (my guess is yes…)
Bargain hunting shoppers are typically expected to flood stores on the “Super Saturday” weekend and because it is such an important time for clothing stores, it is certainly a shame if a snow storm occurs. That most definitely slows the sales volume. When poor weather conditions are in the air, it is not good news for retailers who count on the holidays for a large part of their yearly sales. Fortunately, the world of online apparel shopping is in full swing even in the worst of weather conditions. However, even online sales volume will not save the traditional retailers during horrific holiday season weather. Snowy predictions for the holidays may have storybook holiday charm, but they do not raise the spirits of retailers counting on shoppers to give them a brisk finish to the season. Specifically in regard to Super Saturday, if you’re closed for business on Saturday, it is fairly certain that you are unfortunately not going to do twice the business on Sunday. On the positive side of snow storms for the holiday season, cold weather does help sell cold weather clothing such as outerwear, hats, snow boots, gloves, etc.
Discounts, bargains, and sales are the terms of the weekend. Shoppers are always expecting those last minute discounts as retailers begin to panic. The hopes of every retailer is to end the holiday season with a lean inventory. Certainly, they do not want to be stuck with too many Christmas sweaters.
Super Saturday sales will come to those who missed Black Friday and Cyber Monday but only from select retailers who have extended their sales for the balance of the year. The fact is, if you are looking carefully for bargains, you will most likely find them any time between Black Friday and Christmas day.
Super Saturday's importance is arithmetic: it sits at the end of the year's biggest selling season, at the moment of maximum urgency. Gifts not yet bought must be bought that weekend, and apparel is among the most gifted categories, so clothing, handbag and shoe retailers feel the peak directly. The discounting logic follows from the same position — a Christmas sweater unsold on December 26 is worth a fraction of its December price, so the rational move is to cut prices on Super Saturday and convert stock to sales while the holiday demand lasts.
That is also why the sales-events cluster belongs together. The holiday sales hub, Black Friday and Cyber Monday pages describe the season's earlier peaks; Super Saturday is the final one, after which the season's remaining days belong to the truly last-minute and the post-Christmas clearance. For fashion retailers the weekend is the last full-price-adjacent chance of the year — which is why a single lost Saturday, to weather or closure, cannot be recovered on Sunday.
The last Saturday before Christmas. There is an edge case: if Christmas falls on a Sunday, the Saturday one day earlier finds most shoppers already finished, so the truly decisive Saturday is arguably the one from the prior week.
Because the day cannot be made up. A snow storm slows the foot traffic retailers count on for a large part of their yearly sales, online volume does not fully save traditional retailers, and a store closed on that Saturday will not do twice the business on Sunday. Cold weather does at least help sell outerwear, hats, snow boots and gloves.
Timing and mood. Black Friday opens the holiday season and Cyber Monday moves it online; Super Saturday closes the season, catching shoppers who missed both, with discounts driven by retailers' need to finish with lean inventory — bargains can in fact be found across the whole stretch from Black Friday to Christmas Day.