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‘Super Saturday’ arrives in person for Chattanooga area shoppers as shipping challenges remain

Photo by Dave Flessner / Shoppers are returning to Hamilton Place Mall this year and boosting sales by double-digit levels above the past two years. Saturday is expected to be one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Photo by Dave Flessner / Shoppers are returning to Hamilton Place Mall this year and boosting sales by double-digit levels above the past two years. Saturday is expected to be one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

By Dave Flessner December 17, 2021 5 min read

The Saturday before Christmas – billed as “Super Saturday” by merchants eager to capture holiday shoppers – has traditionally been one of the top shopping days of the year, if not the biggest day of the year for retail sales.

But this year for the first time since 2010, Super Saturday falls a full week before the Dec. 25 holiday, so all of next week could be busy as shoppers try to buy all their gifts in an era when shipping delays and supply shortages may prevent some online deliveries.

In its annual calendar forecast of shopping activity, Sensormatic Solutions predicts Saturday will be the second busiest shopping day of the year, surpassed only by “Black Friday” on the day after Thanksgiving three weeks ago, when many retailers offered special deals and extended hours to get shoppers in the door.

In-person shopping is definitely up from a year ago, when more consumers avoided malls and stores when filling their Christmas stockings.