Holiday shoppers looking into jewelry as gifts for others or for themselves are likely to be out in stores and online for Super Saturday, that last-chance weekend before Christmas—and retailers such as Rachel Lutz are prepping for “therapy buying” shoppers to fill her store.
Lutz, who operates three retail stores in Detroit and recently began selling fine jewelry, is among the retailers looking forward to this weekend, especially as the National Retail Federation (NRF) predicted Tuesday that an estimated 148 million U.S. consumers are planning to shop in-store and online on and around Dec. 18.
In its annual survey, NRF and its research partner Prosper Insights & Analytics say the 2021 Super Saturday shopper number reflects a slight drop from last year, when 150 million consumers were expected to shop. However, it is an increase from the 147 million expected shoppers in 2019.
At Detroit’s The Peacock Room, Lutz’s flagship store, consumers are spending on jewelry as gifts as a way to ease not only pandemic stress but also to find inclusive gifts for everyone on their shopping lists. After all, Lutz notes, jewelry isn’t based on a person’s size as much as their taste and interest, especially younger shoppers who love estate and antique jewelry.
“This really is our Super Bowl,” Lutz says. “As long as you have the right inventory in stock and you’re reaching out to your core customer, there’s no reason why you can’t thrive this weekend.”
Lutz is using her most powerful selling tool of the moment—Facebook Live—to offer jewelry and other accessories to her customers. She says her shoppers are thinking about aesthetics and a piece of jewelry’s meaning over its value as a commodity as well.
According to the NRF in its Tuesday press release, the number of anticipated Super Saturday shoppers is the third-highest reported since NRF began tracking this figure in 2016. It said about a quarter of consumers (27%) plan to shop exclusively in-store and another third (32%) plan to shop online only. Its survey also showed about 41% said they expect to use a combination of the two channels.
“Retailers began preparations for the holiday season months in advance, offering seasonal inventory early and taking preventative measures to circumvent supply chain challenges exacerbated by the pandemic,” NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay said in a statement. “Consumers have responded with a growing eagerness to kick off the holiday shopping season early, and they expect to carry that momentum through the last few weeks of the year.”
The NRF said 2021 holiday shoppers plan to spend a total of $997.73 on holiday purchases this year, and as of early December, they had completed half (52%) of their holiday shopping.
“Consumers have responded to this holiday season’s supply chain challenges with flexibility,” Prosper executive vice president of strategy Phil Rist said in a statement. “When shoppers do experience difficulty finding gifts, they take a proactive approach toward alternate solutions like checking another retailer, location, or channel or identifying a substitute item. Additionally, some will choose to gift cash or a gift card or even wait to see if the item comes back in stock.”
NRF defines the holiday season as November 1 through December 31 and has forecast that holiday sales will grow between 8.5% and 10.5% over 2020 to between $843.4 billion and $859 billion. The 2021 holiday season appears to be on track to reach as high as 11.5% growth over last year, NRF officials said in Tuesday’s statement.
The survey of 7,453 adult consumers was conducted Nov. 24 through Dec. 3 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.2%.
Top: Rachel Lutz says her selection of jewelry, especially estate and antique pieces, are selling well this holiday season, and she expects that to continue at her Detroit-based Peacock Room this Super Saturday weekend (photo courtesy of Rachel Lutz).
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