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Many retailers received good news over the weekend: Shoppers don't hate stores; They're just lazy. Analysts are predicting that when all is tallied, the so-called "Super Saturday" shopping surge might have outdone Black Friday. ShopperTrak founder Bill Martin told WWD, "Super Saturday could be the number-one day of the year," adding that last Friday to today might prove to be "the largest spending period of the year."
Putting a figure on the discrepancy, Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners, estimated that this weekend could exceed Black Friday for the first time in ten years by $1 billion to $2 billion.
ShopperTrak determined that sales throughout November reduced the impact of the day-after-Thanksgiving, while the aggressive discounting through the short shopping season peaked this weekend. Plus, retailers like Macy's and Toys 'R Us, which offer extended hours, have allowed shoppers to take advantage of off hours.
Still Bruce Clark, associate professor of marketing at Northeastern University's Business School, told the LA Times that Amazon "looks likely to be the 800-pound gorilla of the holiday season." Also, it's unlikely that the last minute spending spree is enough for most retailers to meet their year-end goals.
· Outlook Unchanged After 'Super Saturday' [Racked]