Plan Ahead: Sensormatic’s 2025 Global Top Busiest Days
As the 2025 holiday season approaches, retailers face the critical challenge of ensuring stores are staffed, stocked, and ready to meet peak customer demand. In partnership with Sensormatic, a leader in traffic analytics, StoreForce helps retailers turn insights into action—optimizing labor, aligning inventory, and ensuring operational excellence during the busiest shopping days of the year.
With this combined insight and execution capability, retailers gain a clear view of which days matter most—and the tools to act proactively to drive efficiency, sales, and a better customer experience during peak periods.
Understanding the 2025 Top 10 busiest days
Sensormatic’s data reveals the following as the top 10 busiest shopping days for in-store retail in the United States:
1. Black Friday (November 28)
2. Super Saturday (December 20)
3. Second Saturday in December (December 13)
4. Super Sunday (December 21)
5. Boxing Day (December 26)
6. Saturday after Thanksgiving (November 29)
7. Tuesday before Christmas (December 23)
8. First Saturday in December (December 6)
9. Saturday after Christmas (December 27)
10. Friday before Christmas (December 19)
These dates consistently experience the highest foot traffic, making them pivotal for staffing, inventory management, and overall operational planning. Early afternoon hours, particularly 2–3 p.m., are typically the busiest, highlighting the importance of timing in labor and inventory decisions. With clear visibility into these patterns, retailers can act proactively rather than reactively.
Key global Insights: Regional differences
Peak shopping days vary by region, highlighting the need for localized operational planning:
– Canada: Boxing Day (Dec. 26) and Black Friday (Nov. 29) lead the list.
– Australia: Boxing Day (Dec. 26) is the top day, followed by Super Saturday (Dec. 21).
– UK: Super Saturday (Dec. 20) and Saturday after Black Friday (Nov. 29) are the busiest.
– Germany: Super Saturday (Dec. 21) is the peak day, with the second Saturday in December (Dec. 14) also significant.
These differences reflect local shopping behaviors, holiday traditions, and regional promotions, emphasizing that one-size-fits-all planning can lead to missed opportunities. Retailers who tailor strategies to each region are better positioned to capture revenue while maintaining operational efficiency.
Actionable strategies for retailers
Insights are only valuable when they can be acted on. StoreForce provides the visibility and flexibility retailers need to align staffing, inventory, and operations with the busiest days.
– Optimizing labor allocation
Align staffing with traffic patterns: Schedule employees during peak hours and days to meet customer demand.
Cross-train staff: Prepare employees to handle multiple roles to reduce bottlenecks during high-traffic periods.
Dynamic staffing adjustments: Leverage real-time store traffic data to make immediate adjustments as needed.
– Inventory management
Anticipate demand spikes: Stock high-turnover products ahead of peak days to prevent stockouts.
Strategic replenishment: Coordinate inventory across stores based on regional traffic trends.
Promotional alignment: Schedule promotions and sales to coincide with high-traffic days to maximize impact.
– Enhancing omnichannel operations
Seamless in-store and online experiences: Ensure a seamless in-store and online experience for customers.
Click-and-collect optimization: Prepare staffing and inventory for online orders fulfilled in-store.
Marketing coordination: Synchronize digital campaigns with high-traffic in-store periods to drive engagement and conversion.
– Data-driven decision making
Peak hour management: Monitor peak hours and adjust staff presence to maintain service quality.
Streamlined checkout: Streamline checkout and reduce wait times with tasks and queue management.
Engagement strategies: Train staff to assist customers proactively during busy periods.
– Post-holiday planning
Boxing Day and post-Christmas traffic: Recognize these days as significant shopping periods, particularly in Canada, Australia, and the U.S.
Returns and exchanges: Ensure systems and staffing are prepared for increased returns and customer service inquiries.
Data review and learnings: Analyze traffic and sales patterns to inform planning for future peak periods.
Why data-driven planning matters
Retailers who use data-driven insights can shift from reactive to proactive operations. Analyzing traffic and sales patterns enables precise decisions around staffing, inventory allocation, and marketing, ensuring resources are aligned with customer demand. This approach leads to higher conversion rates, reduced operational stress, and a better overall customer experience during the busiest days of the year.
Partnering with analytics and operations experts allows retailers to turn insights into action, making every peak day an opportunity for success.
Get ready for peak season
By integrating traffic insights into operational planning, retailers can ensure peak performance, maximize sales, and deliver an exceptional customer experience throughout the holiday season.