Procrastinators, rejoice: Super Saturday is here and it could bring major discounts to shoppers

• Super Saturday, the last Saturday before Christmas, could draw a record 158 million shoppers.
• Shoppers have more time to buy this year thanks to the calendar. 
• Retailers have too much inventory and they need to offload it before the end of the year. 

Super Saturday is here, and it's likely to be a great day for everyone who procrastinated their holiday shopping. 

More than 158 million people are expected to shop on Saturday, 10 million more than last year at this time and the most since this data was first tracked in 2016, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation of 7,857 consumers.

The reason for these holiday procrastinators? The calendar, according to at least one major retailer.

"There is a sense of customers holding back, and some of that is the way the calendar falls this year," Nordstrom CEO Erik Nordstrom said at Morgan Stanley's Consumer & Retail Conference last week, according to Retail Dive. "It's an extra Saturday before Christmas, Hanukkah is later. There's some calendar reasons for holiday to be pushed back a bit."

But shoppers who take advantage of that extra time to buy are in for another treat: major discounts. Retailers are swamped with too much inventory this year, and with only about two weeks to go until 2022 ends, it's crunch time for retailers who want to get that merchandise off their balance sheets. 

All of this means good news for shoppers, who, unlike last year, won't be trapped by "limited product options and high prices" this year, according to Ross Steinman, a professor at Widener University who studies consumer behavior. 

"It might be the case this year that those who are willing to wait will secure the lowest prices," Steinman said in a statement. "Retailers staring down time-limited inventory surpluses will do whatever they can to liquidate before the holiday season has expired."

Shoppers could see major discounts on Super Saturday

Major retailers have been lamenting their inventory positions throughout 2022.

The supply chain challenges that squeezed retail brands last holiday season have subsided, leaving a pandemic-induced hangover in their wake. Some retailers, encouraged by pandemic demand, placed big orders that got held up in supply chain hell and arrived late, leaving those companies with more stuff than they needed. Plus, not only do shoppers no longer want hot "pandemic products" like home goods and loungewear, but inflation has meant they've also had less money to spend in general.

It's left retailers like Gap, American Eagle, and Abercrombie & Fitch, big box chains like Target and Walmart, and even toy stores overloaded with inventory for much of this year. The best way to get rid of all those products? Discounts. 

Gap Chief Financial Officer Katrina O'Connell pledged during the company's earnings call last month that it would "rely heavily on markdowns and discounting" to clear through those products before the start of 2023 — CFOs from Bath & Body Works, Macy's, and more have pledged similarly. 

Apparel and footwear has already been heavily discounted this holiday season, Business of Fashion reported last month, citing data from retail intelligence firm Edited. Discounts on those items are averaging 49%, the deepest level in three years. As of November, 58% of styles were on sale, up from 35% in 2021 and beating even prepandemic levels, BoF reported — and that was before the last-minute holiday crunch.

Now, heading into the last week before Christmas and the start of Hanukkah, retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Target are running sales to lure shoppers.

Which means if you're heading to the shops this weekend, or buying online, or some combination of both, as 46% of consumers are, according to the NRF, you probably timed it just right.