The tills were jingling in shopping centres across the north and north-east over the weekend as shoppers flocked in search of a late festive bargain.
Shops in Inverness and Aberdeen were bustling with people throughout the weekend, with many of the car parks filling up first thing in the morning and remained chock-a-bloc until late in the afternoon.
In Aberdeen, the winter festival on Union Terrace was hailed for bringing shoppers into the city centre.
Across the UK, it is estimated that Saturday’s shoppers splashed out on more than £1billion worth of goods, with the Bond Accord and St Nicholas Shopping Centres benefiting from the action.
Centre manager Craig Stevenson said the centre had done well this month – unexpectedly beating last year’s figures, despite the downturn.
He said: “On Saturday we were really busy, it’s been a tough year for retail in the city but this December we’ve done really well.
“Our figures are on par with last year which we were really not expecting.
“On Saturday the car park was fill from 10am until closing time.
“There were queues for Santa’s Grotto from 10.30am on Sunday.”
He praised the winter festival – with its arrays of stalls, fun fair attractions and ice rinks – for keeping families local, rather than them going to Edinburgh or Glasgow to lap up the festive atmosphere.
“It has helped bring a lot of people into the city centre who may otherwise have opted to go to Glasgow or Edinburgh,” Mr Stevenson said.
The Trinity Centre was also busy for most of the weekend as people scouted for a late bargain.
Duty manager Philip Stanley said: “We’ve been very busy, on Saturday we were busy most of the day and the car park was full from 9am.
“Debenhams, Superdrug and the jewellers were all bringing the customers in.”
And in the north, the Eastgate Shopping Centre in Inverness was also busy with last-minute “savvy” shoppers hunting out the bargains.
Centre manager Jackie Cuddy said: “It has been a very busy weekend. Our car park was full at 11am on Saturday and almost full yesterday, which is very busy for a Sunday.
“There is lots of spending going on and there are lots of sales already in stores.
“I think a lot of people left their Christmas shopping until the last minute, because shoppers are quite savvy. They know they will get bargains.
“There is a lot of spending going on.
“We have got a Giving Tree for children in care and it has been really busy all day with people going up and leaving presents for them.”