A washout weekend caused a slump in Dundee’s retail economy in the lead-up to Christmas, according to the latest shopping statistics.
The city’s Overgate centre had around 10,000 fewer shoppers than expected through its doors on Saturday as strong wind, heavy rain and near-freezing temperatures wreaked havoc on the roads.
Meanwhile, the farmers’ market that was due to be held between 9am and 4pm at City Square was cancelled.
Malcolm Angus, Centre Manager of the Overgate centre, said: “The mall was definitely quieter than we would have expected for the second last full Saturday before Christmas.
“The weather within the city centre in the afternoon was grim but we still exceeded 40,000 customers, however, I would have expected 50,000 plus.
“The car park was down three per cent year on year for the same weekend.”
In Angus, trade was said to have been “virtually non-existent”, not just because of the weather but as a result of the recent introduction of charges in council-run car parks and competition from online retailers.
Bruce Robertson of the Angus Business and Retailers Association (ABRA), runs hardware stores in Brechin and other areas in Angus.
He said: “Normally we would have done an awful lot better than we have.
“There is a big car park out the back of our Brechin shop and we have sort of built our business around that, by putting in a new back entrance.
“But there were maybe half a dozen cars there on Saturday – it has space for 66.
“There’s another car park next to it and it was completely empty.”
Meanwhile, the news was better in Perth and Fife, with shopping destinations remaining busy.
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Karen Davidson, assistant manager of the Kingsgate Shopping Centre in Dunfermline, said: “It was definitely busy over the weekend.
“I wouldn’t say the weather affected numbers at all. We actually had queues into the car park on Saturday.
“We had lots of things going on in the centre to attract people.”
A spokesman for St John’s Shopping Centre in Perth added: “It was just as busy as usual for us.”
It is expected that footfall will improve in Dundee next weekend, with dry conditions and milder temperatures of up to 6C forecast for Saturday.
In total, one million people are expected to flock to the city in the run up to Christmas to snap up gifts and festive essentials.
Alison Henderson, CEO of Dundee and Angus Chamber of Commerce, said: “Figures from November were not brilliant so hopefully this month will buck the trend.
“I’ve heard quite a lot of talk about indoor markets in Dundee.
“A few things were cancelled on Saturday but on the whole there were quite a few people out shopping even though the weather was particularly poor.
“The urban market at West Ward Works was particularly busy on Sunday. People really value independent trade and unique products.”
