The inventory may be ordered, and the schedules may be (at least tentatively) made, but that doesn't mean retailers are done planning for the upcoming Christmas season.

Europe's Christmas season is marked by diverse shopping habits centred around a variety of days. In the UK for example, four of its five busiest days will fall in December and, like Germany, all of its busiest days will occur within just five weeks. In Italy, however, none of its busiest days happens in December. While specific holidays — like Epiphany in Italy — may be a familiar busy shopping day, retailers must look beyond that. After all, Christmas shopping isn't just one day — but which days will be busiest?

To help retailers plan ahead, Sensormatic Solutions has predicted the busiest days of the Christmas shopping season.

“Our predicted busiest days mark the peaks of in-store traffic, but we expect that, similar to last year, consumers will start their shopping earlier to offset inventory limitations, shipping delays, and ongoing concerns about social distancing,” said Andy Sumpter, retail consultant EMEA, Sensormatic Solutions, Global Retail Consulting Practice.

Get your copy of Europe's Busiest Christmas Shopping Days of 2021–2022 now or keep reading for more insights.

We don't have a crystal ball — but we do have a variety of ways to predict Christmas shopping traffic. We start by accounting for historical shopping patterns, like how early (or late) customers start their Christmas shopping. From there, we examine data points like:

• how and when shoppers respond to sales and promotions
• what days of the week holidays fall on
• weather predictions and how similar weather impacted shopping in the past
• changing shopper behaviours and preferences

Taken together, these insights enable us to make data-driven predictions about when retailers will be busiest during the upcoming Christmas season.

Retailers expect all their Christmas shopping days to be busy, and rightfully so — but the busiest among them represent their highest-earning days of the year. When equipped with the data-driven insights in our report, retailers can:

• Ensure their stores are appropriately staffed — not just with the right number of associates, but with associates trained for key areas (inventory, Click & Collect, customer service, etc.)
• Distribute best-selling inventory items to the stores that need them most
• Tag inventory in advance, either in-store or — ideally — via a source tagging partner
• Optimise their Click & Collect offerings for maximum efficiency

Each of these steps helps retailers prepare their stores, inventories, and associates for a Christmas shopping season that delivers exceptional customer experiences — and boosts their bottom line.

It's no surprise that Super Saturday and Black Friday will continue to be popular shopping days in various countries across Europe, but some interesting changes are expected to take place this Christmas season.

In addition to early shopping due to external factors like shipping delays and pandemic concerns, Andy Sumpter points to another shift retailers can expect. “Additionally, with Christmas Day on a Saturday for the first time since 2010, and stores closed that day to observe the holiday, we expect more shopper traffic than usual will occur in the days leading up to Christmas."

Diego Villar Van Reybroeck, retail consultant EMEA for Sensormatic Solutions, Global Retail Consulting Practice notes this prediction holds true despite the days leading up to Christmas not making the top five of European countries like France and Germany.

France

1. First Saturday of les soldes d'hiver – Saturday 15th January
2. Super Saturday – Saturday 18th December
3. Second Saturday of les soldes d'hiver – Saturday 22nd January

Germany

1. Second Saturday – Saturday 11th December
2. Saturday after Black Friday – Saturday 27th November
3. Super Saturday – Saturday 18th December

Italy

1. Epiphany – Thursday 6th January
2. Saturday after Epiphany – Saturday 8th January
3. Sunday after Epiphany – Sunday 9th January

Spain

1. First Sunday of 2022 – Sunday 2nd January
2. First Monday of 2022 – Monday 3rd January
3. Super Saturday – Saturday 18th December

United Kingdom

1. Super Saturday – Saturday 18th December
2. Thursday before Christmas – Thursday 23rd December
3. Second Saturday – Saturday 11th December

To see all of the 25 busiest shopping days for Europe this holiday season, download your copy of Europe's Busiest Holiday Shopping Days of 2021–2022 today. It's your resource for preparing your staff and stores for the rush of Christmas shopping that's just around the corner.