The 10 Busiest Shopping Days of the 2025 Holiday Season — and 3 Ways Retailers Can Win
10/21/2025 Chip West
For the first time in more than a decade, Christmas Day will fall on a Thursday in 2025. Surprisingly, this timing may affect this year’s holiday shopping season — influencing when consumers browse, buy, and budget.
According to Sensormatic Solutions, Black Friday (falling on November 28 this year) is once again expected to be the busiest in-store shopping day of the U.S. holiday season. But with Christmas landing later in the week, the surge won’t stop there. Retailers should plan for a longer stretch of heavy traffic — and spending that extends well into mid- and late December, and a bit beyond.
A longer runway…and a higher peak
Unlike years when Christmas lands on an earlier day of the week, a Thursday holiday creates an extra full weekend for continued holiday shopping. Analysts expect the last two Saturdays before Christmas (December 13 and 20) to be nearly as busy as Black Friday in overall foot traffic. Add the Sunday before Christmas (December 21) and Boxing Day (December 26), and the final 10 days before the holiday could see sustained increases in shopper activity.
Additionally, overlapping celebrations could further prolong the peak period. This year, Chanukah (December 14 – 22) coincides with projected peak shopping days, and Kwanzaa (December 26 – January 1, 2026) follows immediately after — helping retailers maintain momentum.
What’s driving the pattern:
- Early deals — Shoppers are likely to start buying earlier, driven by promotions and concerns about inventory.
- Late-week surge — The Thursday holiday extends gift-buying momentum through the preceding weekend and well into the next week.
- Flexible fulfillment — Consumers are blending in-store visits with pickup and delivery, tightening turnaround expectations.
The projected top 10 shopping days of 2025
Based on consumer behavior and calendar timing, these dates are expected to see the highest in-store traffic of the holiday season — ranked from most to least busy:
- November 28 – Black Friday
- December 20 – Saturday before Christmas
- December 13 – Second Saturday in December
- December 21 – Sunday before Christmas
- December 26 – Boxing Day
- November 29 – Saturday after Thanksgiving
- December 23 – Tuesday before Christmas
- December 6 – First Saturday in December
- December 27 – Saturday after Christmas
- December 19 – Friday before Christmas
3 ways retailers can win the 2025 holiday season
Success this season depends on agility, alignment, and readiness. With Christmas falling late in the week, demand is expected to grow steadily and last longer. Here are three ways to stay ahead:
- Forecast early and adapt often. Use real-time data to plan inventory and promotions by region. Expect shopping activity to shift quickly as early deals start and late-week surges unfold.
- Enhance fulfillment options. Shoppers will expect quick and convenient service. Focus on buy online/pick up in-store, curbside pickup, and fast delivery to satisfy late-December demand.
- Keep engaging customers after the big weekend. Continue holiday marketing through the final shopping days to reach late gifters and post-holiday deal seekers.
Winning the weeks, not just the weekends
This season, retailers who plan for an extended shopping period and apply data-driven strategies will be best positioned to stand out during the final stretch.
Prepared retailers won’t just dominate Black Friday — they’ll extend this success to the weeks leading up to the holidays and beyond.
Looking to optimize your 2025 holiday retail strategy?
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Chip West is Director of Category Strategy at RRD.