Shop owners in Morningside say they are facing various pressures on their business as they enter this holiday season.
In an effort to fight back against the downturn businesses are holding a light night event on Wednesday.
Cara Coleman, owner of gift shop Rua in Morningside, said she felt footfall at her store was “quieter” than last year, chalking it up in large part to the cost of living crisis.
She added it had been a recurring issue, saying she had seen decreasing spending on the holidays over the past two years.
Cara also felt the council could do more for high streets, saying: “There’s no public toilets nearby, parking is an issue, but that’s a problem everywhere in Edinburgh.
She said she wished business rates were lower, and would like to see the council work to advertise commercial areas outside the city centre.
Rua has been trading for eight years, with Cara saying she aims to have as much Scottish-made goods on shelves as possible.
Several other shop owners felt that business rates were impacting their business, with some sharing Cara’s hopes the council could improve the streetscape in the area.
Sam Kemmer, who owns liquor shop Against The Grain a few metres down the road, felt that the complexities of business rates were a big issue for him.
He said: “The biggest issue that I had to deal with is something that’s happening on a broader scale, which was this property was originally not valued.
“It was not valued for rates, but the cut off boundary was changed. So that is an added cost we had not factored into our business model.”
Sam also felt recent alcohol duty hikes had an impact on his business, saying: “We’ve been a bit of a soft target for five years.”
But he was wary of predicting how customers would spend this season, saying he only knows for sure about ten days before Christmas.
“When you deal with booze, people are very cautious,” Sam said, adding: “They know when they buy their Christmas booze in November they’ll have to come back for it again.”
He said this year marks the fourth Christmas for the shop, which specialises in independent beers, wines and spirits.
Not all shop owners on the Morningside high street felt pressure going into the holiday season, however.
Donald Nairn, who runs the Toys Galore toy store, said: “We’ve had a good year, and it’s not just us.”
He added trading seemed healthy for this time of year, and was optimistic it would continue through to Christmas.
Businesses along the Morningside high street have banded together to try and draw more traffic to the area.
On Wednesday, they will hold a late hours trading event, with many shops in the area staying open until 8pm – as most currently close around 5pm.
Cara and Donald said they were hopeful that the event would impact sales, though Sam pointed out that the nature of his business meant he was open late anyway.
By Joseph Sullivan Local Democracy Reporter
