Shopping

Shoppers say visiting the Trafford Centre on Boxing Day was the ‘worst decision’ they’d ever made

'Today was a different level of busy'

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 27th December 2022

In news that should surprise absolutely no one, The Trafford Centre was quite busy yesterday as the Boxing Day sales kicked off.

Famously one of the busiest shopping days of the year (though in recent years rivalled by Black Friday), the Trafford Centre is always braced for a huge onslaught of shoppers trying to grab a bargain.

Before the shops even opened, videos captured queues snaking around the huge shopping centre, particularly outside popular stores like Zara.

Most retailers set up queue systems outside their doors to manage the flow of shoppers.

@kaylsssx

The Trafford centre on Boxing Day requires alot of patience.

♬ Oh no, oh no, oh no, no no – Hip Hop

One shop that didn’t open at the Trafford Centre on Boxing Day was Next, which stayed shut to give its staff an extra day off.

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Next has historically been one of the most popular shops for a good sale, but pushed back the date to the 27 December again this year.

Credit: TikTok @gandi.hendrin
Credit: TikTok @moizxa_
Credit: TikTok, @kaylsssx

But despite both Next and John Lewis staying shut, thousands still flocked for a browse.

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One person said it was the busiest they’d ever seen the Trafford Centre – which is saying something.

They posted on Twitter: “I’ve never seen Trafford centre this busy in my life.”

Someone else said: “Having a wander to Trafford Centre today was the biggest mistake of my life.”

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@_moizxa_x

#fypシ #fyp #foryoupage #xyzbca #foru #boxingday #traffordcentre #manchester #mcr #boxingdaysales #squished

♬ som original – angel

One TikTok video showed the huge crowds walking around the shops, captioned: “POV: you went to the Trafford Centre for Boxing Day and it’s the worst decision you ever made.”

They then added that they got ‘squished’ moments after taking their video.

In the comments, she said: “I promise you today was a different level of busy.”

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One person replied: “Omg yesss!!! Worst decision ever. I felt as if I was going to pass out several times lol.”

Others said it took them over an hour to find a parking space.

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Another TikTok user captured the scenes inside Zara, where people were literally running to the rails to start their shopping.

@gandi.hendrin

Fyp #boxingday #sale #zara #traffordcentre

♬ original sound – zeuz

But some people did look on the bright side, with one person sharing: “Boxing Day at the Trafford Centre, it just doesn’t get any better than this.”

Featured image: TikTok @

Shopping

The Pop Up Club – pop-up shop for independent retailers to return to Manchester this weekend

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia

The Pop Up Club is coming back to Manchester city centre this weekend, offering a prime retail space to independent businesses and small creators.

The initiative aims to transform unused public spaces and invite designers, makers and artists along to add cultural and commercial value to the local area.

Through providing this platform for these businesses, The Pop Up Club has managed to help its traders earn £1.5 million across all their previous events which run up and down the UK.

The brilliant pop-up retail space was previously on King Street in Manchester, but this time The Pop Up Club is moving into the Manchester Arndale.

Shoppers will be able to choose from the curated traders on offer, such as beautifully handpainted watercolour illustrations from By Tilly, celestial and nature inspired jewellery by Sian Mellor designs and beaded bracelets from That Wild Feeling.

It’s also helping to promote local talent as it shares the work of Manchester based unique printed homewares from Lydia Meiying.

Moonshine Prints, a trader who creates a variety of fascinating and eclectic wall art for everyone to buy and display in their homes, will also be at The Pop Up Club when it returns to Manchester.

The Pop Up Club will offer a chance to browse local traders who normally wouldn’t have a platform as big as this, while also supporting art and culture direct from the north.

Tillie Peel, creator and founder of The Pop Up Club.
Inside the incredible retail space providing opportunities for small businesses.
Peel, admiring works by small creators which are part of her small business initiative.
Credit: Publicity Pictures

The businesses The Pop Up Club uplifts and works with may be small but the amount of traders definitely isn’t – they’ve shone a spotlight on more than 500 independent retailers since setting up the social enterprise.

It’s also nice to hear that creatives who have worked with them in the past would more than likely consider working with The Pop Up Club again as according to the statistic on their website, ‘100% of traders said they would return’.

The venture was founded by Tillie Peel, who says: “Manchester has always welcomed us with open arms, and the friendly Northern spirit was calling us back once again.

“Utilising an empty space at the Manchester Arndale is a dream come true for us, as it puts us at the heart of shopping in the city and with events such as the Christmas Markets returning, the footfall of the city centre will be highly welcomed by us and all our traders in our Manchester store.

“With over 5 million small businesses in the UK*, there are so many that deserve attention and shopping small can bring huge benefits to the economy as well as supporting local income. This Christmas is the perfect time to shop from small businesses and independent traders, where a purchase can make a real difference to that brand.

“Our network of independent businesses have found being in our stores offers real value, as well as allowing them to speak to customers, see the reactions in real time to their items and to get a taste of what the high street has to offer.”

Shoppers who just can’t wait to get on down to The Pop Up Club can browse the shop in person on 16 November at Manchester Arndale.

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Featured Image: Publicity Picture

Shopping

Viral K-Beauty brand Pureseoul is opening a store at Manchester Arndale

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson PureSeoul is opening a K-Beauty store in Manchester Arndale. Credit: The Manc Group

Any skincare enthusiast knows that nowhere makes products quite K-Beauty brands – and now Pureseoul is set to open its first Manchester store.

The viral favourite is set to move into the Manchester Arndale later this month, with shelves packed with Korean skincare and beauty products.

When Pureseoul opened stores elsewhere in the UK, hundreds of fans queued up to get inside from as early as 5am.

That’s partly because of their incredible opening day goodie bags, with the first 200 in the queue in Manchester set to receive more than £300 worth of the store’s most-loved products.

Korean beauty and skincare has been a favourite among beauty gurus for years, but we usually have to buy these cult products online. Now shoppers will be able to browse in person.

Pureseoul is the UK’s leading K-Beauty retailer with shops already open in London, Birmingham, Brighton and Oxford.

Their Manchester store will be their first foray up north, promising to fill the 1,500 sq ft Arndale unit with more than 1,000 iconic Korean beauty and skincare products, plus the latest K-Beauty trends and must-haves.

There’ll be Pureseoul-exclusive brands like Torriden, Rom&nd, Beplain, and AOU just to name a few, in addition to innovative beauty tools.

Shoppers can also enjoy in-store demonstrations and personalised product recommendations from staff.

Gracie Tullio, co-founder and creative director, said: “We are thrilled to announce the opening of our largest store so far, located in the heart of Manchester!

“After working closely with the Arndale team for over a year to find the perfect location, we are excited to welcome more than 2,000 fans on our opening day to join in the celebrations.

“Our Manchester customers have shown incredible support on our social media, making it the most requested city for our next store. We are honoured to create this new space for a community that truly loves Korean Beauty.”

Felicity Loftus, marketing team lead, added: “We’re thrilled to finally bring the IRL K-Beauty experience to the North!

“After the major success of our recent openings, we’re excited to bring back our viral K-Beauty goodie bag for the first 200 in line alongside over 5000 additional goodies for everyone attending on opening day. We can’t wait to welcome and celebrate with our Northern community!”

Pureseoul will open on the first floor of the Manchester Arndale, near River Island and Next, on Wednesday 27 November at 11am.

Goodie bags worth more than £300 will be given out to the first 200 people in the queue.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

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