Thousands queue for bargains on Boxing Day
MILLIONS of pounds passed through North East shops as the region’s bargain hunters made this year’s Boxing Day sales one of the biggest in years.
With stores across the region slashing prices, thousands of people were pounding the pavements to take full advantage of the end-of-year sales.
Some shoppers were waiting in queues by 3.30am on Boxing Day, determined to be first to pick up a bargain.
Intu Eldon Square in Newcastle, intu MetroCentre in Gateshead, Silverlink Shopping Park in North Shields, and Team Valley retail park in Gateshead were all packed with shoppers clutching large bags from stores such as Next and Marks and Spencers.
And around 60,000 people were estimated to have visited the Bridges in Sunderland during the course of the day.
At Silverlink in North Tynesides, queues streetched for hundreds of yards as shops prepared to open their doors early on Tuesday.
Hundreds flocked to Next stores across the North East, queuing from as early as 3am.
Claire Storey, 29, joined the queue at Next in Eldon Square at 3.30am.
She said: “There were 280 people queuing by 5.30am.
“I was there mainly for clothes for the kids.
“I got money off their grandparents for the kids and myself.
“Instead of spending it before Christmas we waited so we could get more for our money.
“I don’t see the point in spending £40 on something when you can get it for £20 a few days later.”
Fenwick and JD Sports on Northumberland Street also both proved popular with early morning shoppers.
On Grainger Street, mens’ urban fashion store End had a large
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queue from opening time. There were also large queues outside Lush stores, with shoppers waiting to get inside for bargain bubble bars and bath bombs. Support worker Sheena Chambers, 52, was up early for the sales. She said: “I was here for 7.30am and I’ve been to Fenwick, which was packed, Boots, Next and the Card Factory. I was just having a look to see what bargains there were. It was very, very busy.” Around one in three Britons (34%) will go to the festive sales, up from 23% last year, according to Barclaycard – making this year’s sales one of the biggest in years. Consumer appetite for the post-Christmas sales period fell away last year after an extended period of discounting that began well before November’s Black Friday. Barclaycard’s poll found months of “feeling the squeeze” this year is resulting in many consumers looking forward to the sales to ease their budgets. But a separate poll by BBC Radio 4 suggests the Black Friday sales are now more popular than the traditional postChristmas spending spree. The survey – of more than 1,000 shoppers – found the majority (56%) think Boxing Day sales have lost their appeal. Gavin Prior, regional centre director for intu Eldon Square and intu Metrocentre, estimated more than one million people visited its UK shopping centres on Boxing Day.