Retail centres report good sales

Braehead said sales were brisk on the last weekend before Christmas

Shopping centres in Scotland's major cities have reported Christmas sales on a par with or better than those they experienced last year.

However, many are relying on a last minute rush from consumers next week to make up for the slow build-up to the busiest shopping time of the year.

Some retailers have slashed prices in the hope of attracting more customers.

The Scottish Retail Consortium said it was too early to say whether festive spending would top last year's £4bn.

The sales used to be on Boxing Day, now they start before Christmas so you can't blame people for putting off doing their shopping until the last minute Aileen Adam Bon Accord centre manager

Two of Aberdeen's main shopping centres reported car parking queues even before opening time.

The duty managers of the Bon Accord and Trinity centres said sales were strong despite adverse weather conditions.

In Dundee, the Wellgate centre reported an 8.5% increase on visitors compared with last year.

The manager of the city's Overgate centre said hourly visitor numbers indicated the centre was "on a par if not slightly ahead" of the same weekend last year.

Business was "very brisk" at Braehead, near Glasgow, and at Edinburgh's Ocean Terminal staff were "braced for extreme shopping".

'Gradual build-up'

In Inverness, one of the city's main shopping centres, the Eastgate, said that "all indications were that sales are up on last year."

However, some retailers are still hoping for another rush of shoppers in the days immediately before Christmas.

Aileen Adam, duty manager of the Bon Accord, said: "There's been a gradual build-up over the past few weeks. I expect next Friday and Saturday to be even busier than this weekend.

"The sales used to be on Boxing Day, now they start before Christmas so you can't blame people for putting off doing their shopping until the last minute."

Simon Donaldson, manager of the Overgate, said: "Customers realise that there's still a full trading week until Christmas Eve so they are more relaxed than they usually are on the last weekend before Christmas."