Shrewsbury’s busy Darwin and Pride Hill Shopping Centres are expecting well over a million shoppers through their doors this month.
Retailers are in the middle of their busiest month of the year in the run-up to Christmas with footfall expected to be up by over 30 per cent and over £70 million to go through the tills.
At Monsoon, in the Darwin centre, Supervisor Amy Dunkerley said they expect to be about 40 per cent busier than in a normal month.
She added: “December is certainly our busiest month and it carries over into the first part of January as well and over the next couple of weeks we would expect to see sales up by about 40 per cent.
“Party dresses are the big sellers, particularly our lace dress which comes in three different colours, and also Christmas decorations and sleepwear too.”
At fashion store Roman, in the Pride Hill Centre, they are getting ready for their second Christmas in Shrewsbury after having a busy time last year and manager Trish Grace said: “Last year was our first here and it went very well and we’re hoping to do even better this time.
“It’s already getting lively which is good and we’re enjoying it. The Christmas decorations are up and looking good and we’re ready.
“Partywear is popular, especially a lot of red and black and also gold and metallic, especially with all the events taking place at this time of year.”
At Ann Summers in the Darwin Centre they’re also looking forward to their busiest time of the year and a spokesperson said: “We do really well in December – it can be double or even treble what we usually do.
“Lingerie is a big seller for us and we’ve got our new look Sexy Santa outfits in and we’ve also got an Elf costume this year which is proving popular.”
Kevin Lockwood, Manager of the Darwin, Pride Hill and Riverside Shopping Centres, said: “This is a key time for retailers and we’re really looking forward to it and expecting a busy month.
“We would expect over a million shoppers in the Darwin Centre and half a million in Pride Hill and that’s something like 40 per cent more than in an average month.
“We’ve got late night opening, the Lantern Parade will kick things off next week and we’ve got the Grotto in the Darwin centre this year so it’s all set for a successful Christmas.”
