Abigail Marotta
Economics
Mrs. Straub
03 January, 2015
Super Saturday
Black Friday, recognized as an unofficial start of the holiday, falls on the friday after thanksgiving, while Super Saturday takes place on the weekend before Christmas. The question here is which one brings in more revenue? “The Saturday before Christmas saw sales hit $23 billion, surpassing Black Friday's $20 billion this year, according to research firm Customer Growth Partners.” There are a few reasons as to why Super Saturday brings in more revenue and is better for the economy.
An important question to address is: who are the shoppers (consumers) for Super Saturday? The easy answer for this are the christmas procrastinators. Grandparents, parents, and children tend to procrastinate on buying the gifts that they need for the special holiday, as seen in the video. Therefore they all rush to the stores, more so on the weekend before christmas, to buy these things.”Consumers should expect even better deals in the final days before Christmas as retailers seek to clear through unsold Barbie inventory. Perhaps now is a good time to buy a Barbie doll and store it in a Public Storage room as a long-term investment — buy low, sell high” (Sozzi). Super Saturday is more about capturing the last minute crowds. On the other hand, Black Friday tends to attract the more savvy shoppers. Now that most stores are on the internet now, it’s easier to stay at home and buy those things.
One good that was bought on Super Saturday was the barbie doll. “The National Retail Federation estimated in November that 20 percent of Americans would buy Elsa and Anna merchandise from the blockbuster kid's movie "Frozen" this holiday season. Barbie, whose plastic parts are born from Mattel, was seen only garnering the wallets of 17 percent of parents. Those results emerged in the toy aisles of Walmart, Target and Toys R' Us, where Barbie dolls and related accessories have been collecting dust (seen in stocked shelves) since Thanksgiving” (Sozzi).
“‘Super Saturday deals will likely push specific discounts that help shed inventory and goose post-holiday sales. While stores aren't likely to have large selections of TVs — among the hottest-selling items over Black Friday weekend — shoppers will find deals on winter apparel that retailers want to get rid of to make way for 2015 spring lines,’says ShopperTrak's Martin” (Malcolm).
Another aspect to consider with Super Saturday being a huge success for retailers is the gas prices declining. “‘Lower gasoline prices and a stronger job market have brightened people's moods and opened their wallets,’ analysts said. ‘That's good news for the U.S., where consumer spending makes up two-thirds of economic activity” (Li).
To make a profit, stores keep their doors open for many, many hours at a time. “Kohl's is keeping its doors open for more than 100 hours straight until 6 p.m. Christmas Eve. Shoppers at select locations in some cities, including San Diego and Chicago, will be able to also buy gifts online and pick them up in stores” (Li). People are so busy with work and other things, that they don’t have time to shop for all the presents. Stores understand that and is a reason as to why they offer huge deals and discounts because they know that the consumer will scramble to buy something before Christmas, making Super Saturday surpass the profit intake of Black Friday.
Works cited
Malcolm, Hadley. "Over Black Friday? Get Ready for Super Saturday." USA Today. 04 Dec. 2014. Web. 03 Jan. 2015.
Li, Shan. "Super Saturday Poised to Eclipse Black Friday as Top Shopping Day." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, Web. 03 Jan. 2015.
Li, Shan. "Super Saturday Tops Black Friday as Busiest Shopping Day." LA Times. Web. 03 Jan. 2015.
Sozzi, Brian. "Oh, Barbie. It's Just Not Your Year, Sweetie." CNBC., 18 Dec. 2014. Web. 03 Jan. 2015.
You did a good job explaining how the stores keep their doors open near the holidays in order to get more business. I was a little confused when you were talking about the good things about super Saturday then started to talk about how the stores didn't sell enough Frozen dolls so now they were just collecting dust. Maybe that would have been better placed in a different part of the blog post. Other than that I can see how super Saturday sparks the economy and gets money flowing through the system.
ReplyDeleteInteresting point about how everyone makes such a big deal about the huge sales that are experienced from Black Friday even though more profit is made from the Saturday before Christmas. Perhaps they should come up with a clever name for that. A question that should be asked though is this "Which day sells more product, Black Friday or the Saturday before Christmas?" Interesting question.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting topic. When I think about an extreme amount of holiday shopping, naturally I think about Black Friday and never really thought about how the Saturday before Christmas shopping would be so much more prominent. But it does make sense. I myself usually procrastinate on buying gifts, and don't like to get up early to try and find huge deals on Black Friday. And I do see this as a trend. What I wonder though, is if some businesses, like smaller run go out of business come February and March because they had such good revenue in December but this income may come to a halt once people start buying less because they have nothing to shop for in those months.
ReplyDeleteThe holidays sure bring in a hearty sum of revenues for businesses everywhere. The lower gas prices definitely helped Super Saturday earn greater profits than Black Friday, as they created a greater income for consumers. This income effect allowed consumers to spend more money on items other than gas, many of which were bought for holiday purposes. Perhaps in the future, Super Saturday will gain more recognition as a prime shopping time and will encourage further procrastination come Christmas.
ReplyDeleteIt makes sense that Super Saturday brings in more revenue than Black Friday because of how much closer it is to Christmas. People go out to get their last minute shopping done while the prices are low. Personally, I've never been Super Saturday shopping, but I can see how this works out with all the people that put shopping aside till the holidays get more near. All in all, great topic and good job!
ReplyDeleteBlack Friday and Super Saturday are big days for not only busniesses, but it's also a big day for consumers. With the Saturday before Christmas, there are the last minute presents that consumers may have put off to buy, or waited until the last minute to find the best price. However, super Saturday may have a potential downfall for everyone. If you wait until last minute as a consumer, you are taking the risk and hoping that the store has the item in stock, whether it's size, color, or even the item in general. This is a day, where stores will make a lot of money, and it brings a lot of money into the economy. Black Friday is always a big day to shop, but so is Super Saturday, and both these days increase revenue for stores, and a lot of money and effort goes into these gifts.
ReplyDeleteYou did a really good job on this post Abby, and connecting it to the economy! I've never heard of Super Saturday, so this was really interesting to read and to learn more about. Now that I think about it, I probably participated in Super Saturday because I too was a procrastinator when it came to Christmas shopping. It's also weird to think that there's another day in the year that has become to popular all because of shopping, besides Black Friday! Overall this was super interesting to read about and a unique topic!
ReplyDeleteI thought your article was very interesting because I've never heard about Super Saturday. I always thought that Black Friday was like the biggest day of income for retail stores. It makes sense that Super Saturday would rake in more cash because of procrastinators that wait until the last minute for all of their Christmas shopping. Both of days are great for the economy and really give it a quick dose of cash flow.
ReplyDeleteI never heard the term "Super Saturday" before reading your post, but it is definitely a thing! I had to finish up some last minute Christmas shopping the Saturday before Christmas and I was shocked at how crowded all of the stores are. But it makes sense, I'm sure a lot of people underestimated how long it would take them to find the right gifts for the holidays. This is a positive for the stores because I bet people are willing to spend a little more money when they are in a time crunch. Interesting post Abby!
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of Super Saturday before, but it sounds like a large income day for the stores! It makes sense that Super Saturday would bring in a lot of income, considering all those last minute Christmas shoppers! Clearly Super Saturday is as good for the economy and money flow, as Black Friday is!
ReplyDeleteBefore reading your post, I hadn't heard of the term "Super Saturday" but I can see why it's a thing. I know personally from experience how busy stores are right before Christmas, and I think this is definitely a much more profitable time for stores rather than during the rest of the year because of this increased demand. I had thought Black Friday was the biggest day, but it makes sense that Super Saturday would be even busier as all of the late shoppers come out and spend money all at the same time.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of the hasty shopping before Christmas referred to as Super Saturday before, so I found that tidbit a little interesting. Retrospectively, it's really crazy how many people will wait until one, two, or three days before the actual holiday before buying a gift. I'm surprised AAA companies haven't exploited this as a way to grossly raise prices out of parental desperation for a gift. In fact, the complete opposite is happening, which is actually good for us, the consumers. Still, though, they're really missing out on a fantastic shot at massive profits.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, good topic choice to talk about that's current, almost three months ago. And incorporating multiple economic terms to strengthen your logistics, though some words are bold-ed twice, the choices naturally coming from your wide vernacular. I've never heard of "Super Saturday" before, Abby, very interesting. Good job bringing up specifics such as the barbie doll example with Frozen, it would make sense from the contemporary Disney times and what kids would love as gifts to become so popular in the toy market. Overall well done, Abby.
ReplyDeleteI definitely shopped on Super Saturday (although I didn't even know that was a thing), so I could say that I am a Christmas procrastinator. I think it would actually be interesting to see a comparison between Black Friday and Super Saturday with revenue sales, amount of customers, etc. to see which "holiday" is more effective for the economy.
ReplyDeleteBefore I read this blog post I have never heard of this last minute shopping called Super Saturday. It is amazing to know how much revenue this brings in compared to Black Friday considering that everyone knows about Black Friday and not Super Saturday. I guess it just goes to show how much people don't want to shop on Black Friday due to the possibility of getting trampled, so they shop on a less popular Super Saturday.
ReplyDeleteBefore reading this I had no idea that super Saturday was a thing. I knew of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It is interesting to me that the sales on this day passed the sales on Black Friday, because they would not have nearly as many items in stock as they would prior to the holiday season. It is also interesting because we always hear of the Black Friday rush and how much it helps the economy, as people go crazy to get their best deals, when in reality if everyone puts off their shopping until super Saturday they could get even better deals by being last minute, with less variety. Overall this was a very good topic and written well.
ReplyDeleteGreat topic Abby. I completely agree with this article. Working in retail for two years, I totally understand the struggles of both of these days, and how much business they both bring in. I don't think anyone really realized super saturday really existed, but it really does. So many people wait until the last moment to buy a gift or two for a loved one, and it really adds up. Also, I don't remember if you wrote about it or not, but it's almost pointless for stores to be open at these crazy times over night; because wages can sometimes out pay the profits... It's really crazy to think about, isn't it? Great post.
ReplyDeleteHey Abby,
ReplyDeleteI don't think that black friday brings more revenue in one day as if it would over the course of a few days and that is just because it seems like a time to get rid of unwanted outdated gear. This provides good outcomes for the store because they can release this gear and still get payed for it while getting a lot of different people to come in, Lastly there is still thoughts that the black Friday should be extended over the course of a week
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ReplyDeleteI never knew that Black Friday didn't bring in as much money as Super Saturday. I would've thought that it would have brought in more money that Super Saturday did because, so many people are out and the demand of special toys are very high. I never would have thought that people wait till the very last minute to buy everything. I think that you did a good job
ReplyDeleteAbby, I liked this topic a lot because I can definitely relate to it. I know I went shopping on both Black Friday and Super Saturday this past year and it is always so crazy. It came as a shock to me though that Super Saturday brought in more revenue than Black Friday, especially because Black Friday sales now start around 6 pm Thursday evening and continue on throughout the whole day Friday. However, I could understand that there are a lot of last minute shoppers and that the Saturday before Christmas would be a huge shopping success! I also really like that you incorporated the gas prices in your post. This was written in the beginning of January and now that it is towards the end, the gas prices have dropped even lower. Has this change in price affected your life personally? I know it has made mine a lot easier!
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