NEUHAUSEN, Switzerland — (September 24, 2019) — Johnson Controls today announced that Sensormatic Solutions, its leading global retail solutions portfolio, released the annual ShopperTrak list of the top busiest shopper traffic days for the 2019 holiday season. In the U.S., Black Friday (November 29), Super Saturday (December 21) and the day after Christmas (December 26) are expected to be the first, second and third busiest shopping days, respectively.

“The Thanksgiving Day weekend — including Black Friday, and the Saturday after Thanksgiving, November 30 — will continue to be crucial span days for all U.S. retailers as they approach the holiday season,” said Bjoern Petersen, president at Sensormatic Solutions. “Our historical analysis also suggests that, because there are only three Saturdays in December leading up to Christmas this year, Boxing Day (December 26) will play a more prominent role in the U.S. It represents another major day consumers are off from work and can shop and/or return items they purchased or received.”

The full list of predicted busiest shopping days in the U.S. is as follows:

1. 11/29/2019 – Black Friday
2. 12/21/2019 – Super Saturday (Saturday before Christmas)
3. 12/26/2019 – Day after Christmas, aka “Boxing Day,” in some global regions
4. 12/14/2019 – Two Saturdays before Christmas
5. 11/30/2019 – Saturday after Black Friday
6. 12/22/2019 – Sunday before Christmas
7. 12/23/2019 – Monday before Christmas
8. 12/28/2019 – Saturday after Christmas
9. 12/27/2019 – Friday after Christmas
10. 12/07/2019 – First Saturday in December

In Canada, Boxing Day (December 26) is expected to take the usual top spot, followed by Black Friday (November 29) and the Saturday after Black Friday (November 30).

The predicted top busiest shopping days in Canada include:

1. 12/26/2019 – Boxing Day
2. 11/29/2019 – Black Friday
3. 11/30/2019 – Saturday after Black Friday
4. 12/21/2019 – Super Saturday (Saturday before Christmas)
5. 12/14/2019 – Two Saturdays before Christmas

Shopper traffic insights can inform more than foot traffic

Retailers can leverage traffic insights throughout the holiday season. Focusing on the top busiest shopping days can help inform scheduling decisions, merchandise floor sets, inventory fulfillment and even loss presentation awareness.

“It’s clear that the physical store is still a key to holiday success for retailers,” continued Petersen. “With the top shopping days making up 45% of retailers’ holiday sales in the U.S., it is more important than ever for retailers to prioritize in-store customer engagement as an effective way to drive sales, customer retention and brand sentiment.”

Additionally, retailers can leverage traffic insights to make data-based staffing decisions in order to capitalize on potential sales and deliver an unparalleled shopper experience. Understanding “power hours” can also help identify the best times for restocking inventory, updating displays and managing other customer fulfillment options, such as click and collect or buy online return in store, which continue to grow in popularity. By using traffic data to identify less busy times in stores, sales associates can achieve all these essential tasks in a more-timely manner.

“The holiday season typically means more action and opportunity for shrink, as a result of high shopping volume,” added Petersen. “Traffic insights can and should be used to help better prepare loss prevention staff to decrease shrink in key categories and high-end items, from shoplifting and organized retail crime (ORC).”

Please see the infographic for more insights on the Top 10 Busiest Shopping Days.

Johnson Controls is a global leader creating a safe, comfortable and sustainable world. Our 105,000 employees create intelligent buildings, efficient energy solutions and integrated infrastructure that work seamlessly together to deliver on the promise of smart cities and communities in 150 countries. Our commitment to sustainability dates back to our roots in 1885, with the invention of the first electric room thermostat. We are committed to helping our customers win everywhere, every day and creating greater value for all of our stakeholders through our strategic focus on buildings. For more information, visit www.johnsoncontrols.com or follow @johnsoncontrols on Twitter.

Sensormatic Solutions is the leading global retail solutions portfolio of Johnson Controls enabling smart and connected shopper engagement. By combining critical insights into retail inventory, shopper traffic and loss prevention, Sensormatic Solutions powers operational excellence at scale and helps create unique shopping experiences. Our solutions deliver real-time visibility and predictive analytics for accurate decision-making across the enterprise, enabling retailers to confidently move into the future. With more than 1.5 million data collection devices in the retail marketplace, we capture 40 billion shopper visits and track and protect billions of items each year. Our retail portfolio features the premier Sensormatic, ShopperTrak and TrueVUE brands. Please visit Sensormatic Solutions or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and our YouTube channel.

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