Scots enter new age of consumerism
Thousands enjoyed the American model of consumerism – at least those who could afford it, writes David Maclean
Shopping habits and trends were changing at a faster pace than ever before, with thousands of Scots lapping up a more American model of consumerism – or at least those who could afford it.
When it came to public spending power, the decade began less auspiciously than Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government would have hoped.
Unemployment soared towards the 3 million mark in the 1980s as the Tories pursued a sweeping de-industrialisation program while struggling to control inflation.
In 1981, the jaws of recession latched on to the UK with such great force that for the first time in a generation high streets became increasingly peppered with boarded up premises.
Despite the economic downturn, there were plenty Scots who thrived during the decade and were able to enjoy the fruits of a new age in consumerism.
A more American retailing model began to emerge. Burger chains were springing up, cocktail bars were opening and sprawling shopping centres and retail parks were being built up and down the country.
Shopping habits were changing. Suddenly, the public no longer desired the inconvenience of visiting separate premises to pick up meat, fish and fruit & veg.
Supermarkets and freezer centres, where pretty much everything could be purchased under one roof, became the norm for food shopping.
US fast foods chains, such as Mcdonalds and KFC, were also gaining a foothold in Scotland, and spreading to every city by the end of the decade.
Clothes shopping was also being transformed. The Waverley Market and Princes Square developments, opened in 1984 and 1986 in Edinburgh and Glasgow respectively, offered consumers a landscaped and covered plaza where they could shop till they dropped.
It’s fair to say the country went shopping mall crazy in the 1980s. Scotland’s first out of town shopping centre, Edinburgh’s Cameron Toll (1984), accompanied Glasgow’s St Enoch Centre (1989), the Eastgate in Inverness (1983), and the Bon Accord in Aberdeen (1985).
However, the great shopping mall shift proved devastating for Scotland’s traditional large shopping outlets – the department stores.