Survey tracks top holiday retailers based on in-store traffic

Seattle -- The weekend before Christmas ranked as the busiest shopping period in December by in-store visits to top retailers, with Super Saturday ranking among the three busiest shopping days for Walmart, Target, Toys ‘R’ Us, Macy’s and Kohl’s, according to Placed.



"When taking a step back from the macro-level metrics around holiday purchasing behavior, and looking at data from a retailer level, it’s clear that a single day does not make or break a retailer’s holiday season," said David Shim, founder and CEO of Placed.



Placed analyzed the shopping behaviors of opted-in panelists from its Placed Panels service to reveal the busiest shopping days for retailers this holiday season. Analysis of several key retailers, including Walmart, Target, Toys ‘R’ Us, Macy’s, Best Buy and Kohl’s, revealed the following insights:



•Super Saturday (December 22) was the only day in December to rank among the top 3 busiest days by in-store traffic for all five of the retailers analyzed (Walmart, Target, Toys ‘R’ Us, Macy’s, Best Buy, and Kohl’s).



•For Best Buy, Super Saturday was the busiest day for the retailer during December.



•December 15 (two Saturdays prior to Christmas) was the top December shopping day for Toys ‘R’ Us customers. The day also ranked highly for Target, Macy’s and Best Buy.



•Christmas Eve was the busiest day for Target in December and the 2nd busiest day for Walmart.



•Kohl’s was the only retailer on the list that saw the day after Christmas (Dec. 26) crack the top 3 busiest days in December.



•Victoria’s Secret, Family Dollar, and Foot Locker saw the largest relative gains in visits on Christmas Eve. Macy’s, which extended its store hours on Christmas Eve, also saw strong in-store traffic.



• American Eagle showed the largest relative gain in in-store visits on Super Saturday, followed by Express and Gap.



For more 2012 holiday analysis including a look at market share foot traffic for department stores, big box retailers and wireless carrier stores, click here.