The tills of shopping centres in the north and north-east were jingling yesterday as customers rushed to get their hands on last-minute bargains ahead of Christmas.
Retail outlets in Aberdeen and Inverness were packed throughout the day and thousands are expected to pass through their doors again today.
The Trinity Centre in Aberdeen was among the many emporia to benefit from ‘Frenzied Friday’ with a post office for Santa proving exceptionally popular.
General manager, Linda Stewart, said: “There has been a real Christmas buzz in the centre during the last few weeks.
“We have created some Christmas magic this year by organising our annual Santa and Reindeer parade, with support from Aberdeen Council and Aberdeen Inspired, and organising, for the first time, Santa’s Post Office.
“The Santa Parade saw 37,000 people come into the centre on the Sunday and Santa’s Post Office has received over 1,500 letters so far.”
Ryan Manson, the general manager of Union Square, confirmed he was expecting 50,000 people to come through the centre today.
He added: “It has been another busy day at Union Square in the final countdown to Christmas.
“There have been lots of last-minute shoppers coming into the mall today, with gift cards being particularly popular.
“Christmas Eve is set to be another busy day with trading hours running from 9am until 5pm and around 50,000 shoppers anticipated.”
The shopping rush was not consigned to Aberdeen, with large crowds flocking to the St Giles Centre in Elgin.
Manager, James Gardiner, said: “It’s been brisk today. It’s just got busier as the week has gone on, but has remained at about the same level as last year.
“We’re expecting another rush of shoppers on Christmas Eve.
“There’s probably going to be quite a lot through the doors early on before it falls away in the afternoon.”
In Inverness, people flocked to the Waterstones store to pick up a new book about a local stalwart.
Store manager, Peter Sim, said: “The old favourites in crime writing, Ian Rankin and Peter May, have both been very popular.
“But there’s also been great interest in Skye cyclist Danny MacAskill’s book ‘At the Edge’.
And the Eastgate shopping centre was also full to overflowing throughout the day.
