Hundreds queued at 4am to grab a Boxing Day bargain

Boxing day sales at Fort Kinnaird, Edinburgh

Elsewhere shoppers arrived at some stores from as early as 3am to hunt for bargains in the post-Christmas sales.

Stores opened their doors early in the hope of attracting dawn chorus customers, including at the Fort.

Liam Smith, Centre Director at Fort Kinnaird, said: “We weren’t surprised to find people so many people queuing from the wee hours – our Next sale has always attracted a very hardy sales shopping crowd. Staff in our other stores were also opening the doors to crowds – with JD Sports, Smyths Toys Superstores and Marks & Spencer proving particularly popular.

“Although a lot of the sales started pre-Christmas, we have found many people still hold off until after the big day to spend vouchers and a bit of money on themselves.

“More items go into sale and it is still a very popular day out in the week between Christmas and returning to work in the New Year.

“We have enjoyed a particularly busy festive season and expect this to continue throughout the sales and into the new season launches in January.”

More than 65,000 shoppers descended on The Centre in Livingston to grab a bargain, with many shoppers carrying lists for items waiting to be reduced.

Stacey Love, from Bathgate, praised the sales there as “fantastic”.

The 27-year-old nurse added: “I’m absolutely delighted with the bargains I’ve managed to pick up.”

Despite frosty weather, many outlets across the land reported a buoyant day’s trading and that the cold snap had encouraged shoppers to upgrade their winter wardrobes.

Ryan Manson, general manager of Union Square in Aberdeen, said: “Many people will use Boxing Day as an opportunity to treat themselves, with this year seeing customers spending more on investment items such as jewellery. Many shoppers are spending quality time with family and friends, choosing to enjoy their Boxing Day at one of our many restaurants or grabbing a bite before heading off to catch the new Star Wars film.”

The shopping and leisure destination estimated that about 85,000 people would go through its doors, with a further 90,000 on Wednesday.

Despite a tough year for retailers, in Inverness the picture seemed to be rosier around pre-Christmas and Boxing Day.

The Eastgate Shopping Centre reported a boom in sales during the festive period, with a rise in the number of shoppers on previous years.

Jackie Cuddie, manager, said: “The centre’s been very busy, with the car park filling up very early on.”

Glasgow’s intu Braehead saw queues throughout the centre and extra staff on shift to deal with the workload.