Shoppers make for a lively atmosphere in the city centre
HUNDREDS of people headed out into Cardiff city centre on Saturday to do their shopping on the last weekend before Christmas.
Queen Street and St David’s were filled with Christmas shoppers buying their last-minute presents before the big day.
Santa’s Grotto saw queues of children and their parents waiting to see Santa Claus, and the Christmas Market had its fair share of customers tucking into street food and mulled wine.
Shoppers were welcomed to a lively atmosphere, with buskers scattered on every corner singing various Christmas hits.
According to some Cardiff businesses, however, it was busy but compared to the years before the pandemic, it could have been busier.
This comes after new Covid restrictions and guidance were announced in Wales on Thursday evening, although they don’t actually kick in until December 27.
First Minister Mark Drakeford has urged people to take care during the festive period and see fewer people in a bid to slow the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant.
He announced that all nightclubs would be closed on December 27.
Extra measures will also be put in place to protect customers and staff in shops and businesses, such as one-way systems and physical barriers, with an additional
£60m of funding being made available to help those businesses impacted by the changes.
Steven Salamon, of Wally’s Delicatessen, was serving customers in Cardiff at the weekend.
He said: “Of course, this weekend was busier than last year. This day last year, cases were up and lockdown was about to be announced that weekend.
“But this is in no way busier than two years ago. I think most people are scared and are staying away.
This is in no way busier than two years ago. I think most people are scared and staying away
Steven Salamon, of Wally’s Delicatessen
“Hopefully, we won’t have to close due to restrictions any time soon. I think that unless the government will say otherwise, people will always continue to shop.”
In Castle Arcade, Kirbie Oxley, a supervisor at Friends In Knead bakery, also found it quieter than usual.
“It did seem quieter than other Saturdays for us – it wasn’t a sellout,” she said. “It was busy but it wasn’t as busy as previous years.
“I spoke to other business owners in the area and they said it was the same for them.
“You have mixed emotions in this situation – on one hand you are shocked with the amount of people that still go shopping with everything that is going on, but on the other hand, as a worker – I don’t have the option to work from home – this is how I make my money.”
Jonathan David, of Jonathan David Jewellers in Morgan Arcade, agreed.
He said: “Monetary-wise, we’ve had a good Christmas so far, which has surprised us.
“We mostly sell commissioned pieces, therefore they have been commissioned months in advance.
“But with restrictions in place, it has been difficult getting that footfall through window-shopping.
“More and more people are turning to online shopping, so we’ve had to adapt and that has essentially become our new ‘window-shopping’.
“From 10am until 3pm yesterday we were busy, but soon after that, it just died off.
“It’s tough for everyone and the experience very much feels like a stop-start scenario. But as long as we are making some money, then we should be happy.”