Retailers are gearing up for last-minute gift shoppers as the turn of the calendar sets them up for strong sales on Saturday.
Surveys from the National Retail Federation (NRF) show that 56 percent of holiday shoppers — about 134 million people — plan to shop on the last Saturday before Christmas. That's up from 126 million people last year, according to the industry group.
Minnesota powerhouses Best Buy and Target are among the retailers big and small that have extended their store hours to accommodate shoppers.
With Christmas falling on a Tuesday this year, analysts say shoppers still have time to pick up a gift before they have to hit the roads or the airports to visit family.
Saturday is expected to be the second-busiest this holiday season behind the Friday after Thanksgiving, according to retail analytics firm, ShopperTrak.
Shoppers are expected to spend $26 billion on Saturday , outpacing the $24 billion they spent on Black Friday, Craig Johnson of Customer Growth Partners told Bloomberg.
Who are these last-minute shoppers? The NRF reports that among consumers who had finished half of their shopping or less, 44 percent said they were still deciding what to buy, up from 42 percent last year. Twenty-seven percent were waiting for family members to share their requests, while 26 percent cited other financial priorities.
A quarter said they were too busy with other activities and 22 percent admitted being procrastinators.
