£400m IS SPENT IN THE SALES
Early risers snap up the best bargains
BARGAIN-HUNTERS were out from 3am yesterday to catch the best Boxing Day deals – and Scots were set to spend up to £400million.
More than a million people were expected to take part in festive sales in stores and online.
At intu Braehead, near Glasgow, a queue of 400 had formed by the time the Next store opened at 6am.
The shopping centre’s general manager Gary Turnbull said: “The early birds caught the best of the bargains. Shoppers were driving into our car parks at 4am and queuing for two hours outside the Next store.
“JD Sports also opened at 6am while the other stores started trading at 8am. As the day went on, the centre became even busier with shoppers.”
Shoppers also flocked to Next at Glasgow Fort shopping centre at 3am, with 300 ready to bag the best bargains.
In Edinburgh, Harvey Nichols in St Andrew Square attracted huge crowds.
Ian McLelland, centre director at EK, East Kilbride, also reported brisk business. He said: “It looks like gift cards were a popular Christmas present, with lots of shoppers using the cards to pick up some bargains in the sales.”
Spending in Scotland was expected to double Black Friday, when £168million was forked out.
Sales started in Next stores at 6am. They began at 7am or 8am at Debenhams and 8am at M&S and many other retailers.
A survey by Barclaycard estimated that 23 per cent of Britons would shop in the Boxing Day sales, down from 32 per cent last year.
The figures suggest the incentive to buy in the sales has weakened following widespread discounting, including Black Friday and Cyber Monday, that continued well into December.