Queues around country as Christmas shoppers stock up

ireland
Queues Around Country As Christmas Shoppers Stock Up
Unlike previous lockdowns, non-essential retailers will remain open. Photo: Getty Images.
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By Digital Desk Staff

People are queueing outside shops across the country to stock up on last-minute food and gifts ahead of both Christmas Eve and renewed Covid-19 restrictions.

In just over 24 hours, restaurants, gastropubs and hairdressers will close their doors under a Level 5 lockdown.

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However, unlike previous lockdowns at this level, non-essential retailers will remain open.

In Dublin, Dunnes Stores in Blanchardstown Shopping Centre saw long queues Wednesday morning as people waited over an hour to enter with no more than 250 people allowed in the store at a time.

Queues were also seen in Rathmines, with staff said this was normal for the time of year and customers were not panic-buying.

In Cork, shoppers faced a wait of at least 45 minutes to enter another Dunnes Stores in Blackpool Shopping Centre.

Elsewhere in Ireland, people have been queueing outside in the rain for jewellery shops and butchers, while roads are set to get busier this afternoon as people leave the cities.

Although non-essential retailers will remain open tomorrow as other businesses shut their doors, January sales will be smaller and take place in a more controlled fashion.

Managing Director of Retail Excellence Ireland, Duncan Graham, said sales will not be promoted in the same way as previous years and he expects a lot of transactions to move online.

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“We’ll have some discounts in stores that have been apparent during the run up to Christmas and beyond, but I don’t think we’re going to see perhaps the heavy discounts... that we’ve seen in the past,” he said.

“I don’t think we’re going to see retailers sticking large sale banners in windows.

“At some point, we will need to clear out of Autumn/Winter stock, in order to make way for the new Spring/Summer stock that will come through for 2021,” he added.

“We’ll need to action further discounts in order to clear that product. Ideally, we’ll clear quite a bit of that online.”

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