Despite a national decline, Dunfermline’s Kingsgate Centre reported a strong festive season with high customer turnout and tenant success.
Dunfermline: The Kingsgate Centre had a pretty good festive season, even though the Scottish Retail Consortium reported a two percent drop in trade across Scotland. Neil Mackie, the centre’s manager, shared that things looked bright in Dunfermline.
He mentioned they don’t have exact sales figures from the tenants, but overall, the vibe was positive. Most feedback was great, with very few exceptions. The weeks leading up to Christmas were particularly busy, and he saw it firsthand—customers were everywhere!
Interestingly, Mackie noted that usually, shopper numbers dip after Black Friday, but that didn’t happen this December. Instead, they saw a surge in foot traffic right after Black Friday.
He said many tenants exceeded their sales targets, which was fantastic for the centre. While Scotland faced a decline in shopper numbers overall, it still performed better than the other home nations in December.
Andy Sumpter from Sensormatic Solutions pointed out that this was the second year in a row with falling shopper numbers in Scotland. He mentioned that while there were some busy days, the overall foot traffic was lower than last year.
As the year wrapped up, it was clear that retailers would need to rethink their strategies for 2025 to make the most of fewer visitors and boost sales.
