Even though its off to a strong start troubles in Europe and a global consumer slowdown could adversely affect the final stretch of the holiday shopping season according to a report by Reuters The last shopping Saturday before Christmas is called Super Saturday and its traditionally the biggest shopping day of the season Retail consulting firm Customer Growth Partners said the day will likely pull in 26 billion in revenue which is an increase from 245 billion last year However British online fashion brand ASOS issued a profit warning on Monday Dec 17 sending shockwaves that hit US companies like Amazon and showing that even successful online-only sellers were vulnerable to the global environment That environment includes a US Federal Reserve thats probably going to raise rates Chinese consumers acting tepid and European sellers seeing weaker sales Analysts worry that the skittishness could infect US consumer sentiment In fact FedEx slashed its 2019 profit prediction after Europes economic slide and the trade war with China On Wednesday Dec 19 Europes largest electronics retailer CECONOMY announced that it expected profits to fall Exacerbating the issue is the looming shadow of Brexit and the uncertainty of a no-deal departure Also in the mix are the protests in France Despite these issues there have been some increases on American soil JCPenny holiday car traffic went up 10 percent from Black Friday through Dec 10 from a year ago Target saw a 7 percent increase and Walmart saw a 5 percent pop Theres another factor that could help US retailers as well the low price of gasoline Data from the American Automobile Association AAA showed the national average for gasoline is 237 the least expensive since 2016 Consumers will definitely notice they have a little more money in their pockets and buy an extra gift or two said James Bohnaker associate director of US macro and consumer economics at financial data company IHS Markit LATEST INSIGHTS Our data and analytics team has developed a number of creative methodologies and frameworks that measure and benchmark the innovation thats reshaping the payments and commerce ecosystem Check out the latest PYMNTS report on healthcare digital identity ASOS Brexit china Christmas Consumer Spending europe Gasoline global economy holiday shopping season News Retail super saturday trade war Whats Hot