FORT WORTH, Texas — The last-minute holiday rush is on.
Friday, Michael and Heidi Hardy, residents of Haslet, Texas, rushed to the Tanger Outlets in Fort Worth.
“We’re probably 95 percent done, just a few more stocking stuffers,” Heidi explained.
“I’m gonna be done today!” Michael said.
They tried to beat the busy crowds ahead of "Super Saturday," the last Saturday before Christmas.
The National Retail Federation predicts more than 148 million people will shop on Super Saturday during the 2021 holiday season. While it’s among the busiest Super Saturdays on record, since tracking began in 2016, it’s fewer than last year.
In 2020, 150 million were expected to shop on Super Saturday, and in 2019, 147 million were predicted to shop.
Overall, NRF reports this holiday season is on track for an 11.5% growth from 2020. Holiday sales are forecasted to hit nearly $860 billion for the 2021 holiday season.
Holly Conner, marketing director for Tanger Outlets in Fort Worth, told WFAA they’re gearing up for large crowds this weekend by extending shopping hours.
“This year, there’s many more shoppers, more traffic," Connor explained "It’s certainly a much busier year this year."
Experts with NRF said that issues surrounding the supply chain led people to plan ahead and begin their holiday shopping earlier this year. That was the case for Isabela Pascual, a shopper visiting Fort Worth from Ohio.
“The first week of December, I was like, 'I just gotta get this done,'” Pascual said.
Based on a study, the NRF predicts that approximately 27% of consumers will shop in-store only and 32% online-only, while 41% will do both.