Dundee business owners enjoyed roaring trade as last-minute shoppers flocked to the city centre during the final weekend before Christmas.
The city’s High Street was inundated with shoppers who visited the Wellgate and Overgate centres, the farmer’s market in City Square as well as a number of independent shops.
More than 100,000 people headed to the Overgate Centre, with the queues for car parks stretching back to Court House Square by 10.30am.
Malcolm Angus, Overgate Centre manager, said: “The atmosphere in the centre has been fantastic with last minute shoppers generating a bumper rush of footfall particularly across beauty, fragrance and leisure.
“Overgate gift cards are also proving popular with over £35,000 worth of cards purchased on Saturday alone and a steady queue at our Customer Service Desk experienced all weekend.
“Last minute shoppers have been taking advantage of many great offers that some stores launched at the weekend and the centre’s extended opening hours on Sunday proved popular too.
“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.”
Meanwhile, one independent shop that enjoyed a weekend of bumper trade was Maisie and Mac gift shop on 2 High Street.
Owner Alison Strachan said: “We have two branches, one in Dundee and one in Cupar and both have been busy.
“The staff working on Friday in Dundee said there wasn’t a moment when there weren’t people in the shop.
“Normally it takes a while for things to get going in the morning but this time there were people through the door straight away.
“We’ve been open in Dundee just over a year and we’ve got a lot of people who like to support local businesses.
“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.”
Sales were also steady at Dundee’s oldest shop J.A. Braithwaite, which has been selling luxury teas and coffees since 1868.
Assistant Dawn Braithwaite expects an even bigger influx of customers today and tomorrow.
She said: “We’ve been busy with a constant flow of customers but we expect to get a big rush on Monday and Tuesday.
“We sell fresh products so people want to get them as close to Christmas as possible.”
