The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Christmas shoppers boost high street
Business owners across Courier Country report roaring trade for weekend
Business owners in Tayside and Fife reported a roaring trade over the weekend as shoppers flocked to find lastminute pre-Christmas bargains.
Figures from the Centre for Retail Research suggest £222 million was spent in stores and £30m across Scotland over the weekend.
Dundee city centre was inundated with shoppers visiting the Wellgate and Overgate centres, the farmers’ market in City Square and independent shops.
More than 100,000 people were in the Overgate Centre, with the queues for car parks stretching back to Court House Square by 10.30am, and more than £35,000 of Overgate gift cards were bought on Saturday alone.
Centre manager Malcolm Angus said: “The atmosphere has been fantastic with last-minute shoppers generating a bumper rush of footfall, particularly across beauty, fragrance and leisure.
“The centre’s food operators also experienced strong trade all weekend, especially with families visiting Santa’s School, and as we enter the final countdown to the big day we expect footfall to remain busy.”
One independent shop that enjoyed a weekend of bumper trade was Maisie and Mac, which has shops in Dundee and Cupar.
Owner Alison Strachan said: “There is a lot of doom and gloom about the state of high streets and some businesses are struggling but we’ve been doing really well, especially around Christmas.”
In Dunfermline, the Kingsgate
Shopping Centre reported a footfall upturn in the second week of the month of more than 30%.
It is expected that figure will be higher for last week once results are known.
Centre manager Neil Mackie said the festive rush had been delayed but trade was good, withstanding competition from online retailers and changing shopper habits, including Black Friday sales at the end of November.
He said: “Our footfall averages around 150,000 a week.
“The week before last the numbers went up to 200,000 and when the figures come in for last week we’re expecting it to be higher than 200,000.
“We also have the advantage this year of another two full shopping days this week. Feedback so far is that trade has been reasonably strong given all the external pressures such as online shopping.”
However one independent retailer in Perth blamed a string of city centre markets for the “worst Christmas we’ve ever had”.
She said: “To look at the council-run social media it’s all about promoting events and the markets – you wouldn’t know there’s any retailers in Perth.”
Phil Prentice, chief officer of Scotland’s Towns Partnership (STP), encouraged shoppers leaving it late to shop local.
“Most people, when asked, say they want their town centres to thrive now and in the future, but ahead of Christmas I would say to them that it’s actions that matter more than words,” he said.