American retailers are preparing for the last week of the holiday shopping season beginning on Dec. 17. The 2021 holiday season appears to be on track to reach as high as 11.5 percent growth over last year. The last-minute Christmas rush beginning on Super Saturday is the most profitable season for retailers in the fourth quarter. Super Saturday is expected to draw more than 148 million shoppers to stores and online retail, according to an annual survey by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. The number reflects a slight drop from last year’s Super Saturday, when 150 million consumers were expected to shop, which is higher than the estimated 147 million shoppers in 2019. Consumers were estimated to have spent a total of $997.73 on holiday purchases so far this year, according to a report from the National Retail Federation (NRF). “Consumers have responded with a growing eagerness to kick off the …