Outside the Bridges
Late night shopping will begin next week at the Bridges shopping centre in Sunderland to take pressure off shoppers this festive season, starting from Monday December 12.
Until Friday December 23, selected stores will be open from 9am till 8pm, with normal shopping hours resuming on weekends. On Saturdays the centre will be open from 9am till 5:30pm, and 11am till 5pm on Sundays.
Parking in the Bridges car park will also be free on Monday to Friday evenings from 5.30pm till 9.00pm, making the Christmas shopping experience easier and affordable for those who make the most of the late night shopping experience.
Late night shopping will take pressure off those who work full time, as it will give them the opportunity to do their shopping when they are free in the evening.
Samantha Czwordon-Wright, 33, marketing manager at the Bridges, stated: “We absolutely think later hours will benefit Sunderland shoppers without a doubt.
“We are adding extra hours to enable shoppers to come in after work or after they have managed to collect their children from school so they can head over to the Bridges to do some hassle free Christmas shopping.”
Sarah Kearney, 28, works full time in Sunderland City Centre, and explained why she will be going late night Christmas shopping at the Bridges: “The only time I have to go shopping is after work during the week. I try to avoid going on a weekend as the city centre is so busy, so I’ll definitely be doing my Christmas shopping during the late nights.”
Retailers including Debenhams, Next, Pandora and the Disney Store will be taking part in the Bridges festive later hours. Last year, around three million shoppers visited the shopping centre during the festive season.
Samantha said: “After an exceptionally busy Black Friday, we are really hoping for an increase in the amount of shoppers this year during the Christmas period. We’re hoping that we do extremely well and that our retailers will report positively about Christmas”
