Eastgate Shopping Centre in Inverness 'getting busier' after coronavirus lockdown says boss
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
The main shopping centre in Inverness is seeing positive signs as more people start to come through the doors and spend again.
The Eastgate Shopping Centre close to the High Street and the Victorian Market in the Old Town each have their own unique offering for shoppers in the city.
And, because of the location of both sites, they offer the ideal opportunity to explore the neighbouring streets and let visitors take advantage of the area’s cafés, bars, restaurants and shops.
Indoor shopping centres had to wait that little bit longer to open than other non-essential retail outlets, but the manager of Eastgate Shopping Centre says things have steadily been improving.
Jackie Cuddy was pleased to report that last weekend was its best since reopening on July 13 – with Saturday (August 1)the busiest day with 14,500 visitors.
She said: “Our weekly footfall has been -59 per cent, -49 per cent and -43 per cent, so we are going in the right direction.”
The figures for Saturday also showed that the centre was just 38 per cent down on the same Saturday last year – and she said the lower footfall at Eastgate was in line with other shopping centres across Scotland.
However, she revealed that during the four-week period it was getting busier every week and added: “It’s been busier than we expected. We didn’t get the initial rush I thought we’d get.”
Mrs Cuddy said this was probably down to the fact that other outlets, such as retail parks and High Street shops, were allowed to open earlier.
Visitors to the centre are coming from across the age range and she said she was seeing more groups of people, including more families, visiting the centre.
She said that people were shopping with definite purchases in mind. “People aren’t coming out to browse,” she added.
A lot of stores at the shopping centre held sales when they reopened and Mrs Cuddy said this had also helped to increase the footfall as well as sales.
She said: “A few of them are up on last year. A few of the national companies are faring well in their regions.”
She said a lot of the shop managers had said they were doing better than they had expected and that they were glad to be open again.
Another factor which might have helped to boost visitor numbers was the return of Inverness Farmers’ Market which was held right outside the centre on Saturday – for the first time since March.
Mrs Cuddy said: “It gives a great ambience to the city centre, without a doubt.
“People were enjoying the farmers’ market, which was good. We definitely get some return from that.
“I am definitely optimistic and it’s lovely to see how many shops are open. It is all very positive.”
Click here for more business news
