Last-minute Christmas shopping chaos in Coventry sees big queues in car parks

[dutchman]

Many shoppers were out getting last-minute festive goods for Sunday



Let the chaos begin. Christmas Day is nearly here, but many shoppers in Coventry are still getting last-minute gifts in time for the festive celebrations on Sunday.

Drivers were warned to expect long traffic queues on major routes on the approach to Christmas. And the Ricoh Arena Shopping Park was amongst the busiest locations today with the car park full and queues stretching across the whole shopping park.

The city centre was also busy with shoppers grabbing the last items. One local said 'they couldn't get out' of the Ricoh as the queues were 'up to 30 minutes and even more'.

Another shopper told us he was expecting it to be quiet - but it was anything but. "I thought I might get sorted pretty quickly, but there were people everywhere. And some people were queuing in the car parks for ages."

Over in Hinckley, things were also frantic. Earlier today shoppers said the Sainsbury's car park there was "gridlocked". Many were waiting around an hour to get out, LeicestershireLive reports.

One person said "it happens every year".

Shoppers scrambling for last-minute goodies face other challenges. Wet and icy weather makes going out a tougher proposition - with some Brits facing snow on top of that.

The build-up of cars shows that many still like to visit stores in person - despite the rise in online shopping since the pandemic. However, due to the recent Royal Mail strikes, many shoppers found themselves hitting the stores to get last-minute gifts.

According to AA, the busiest days for travel are today and tomorrow, with an estimate of nearly 17 million cars on UK roads. A survey of more than 12,000 motorists showed that 51% plan to make a car journey today with 50% to make a trip the next day.

[rebbonk]

People are stupid!

[dutchman]

That depends on where you live. They're shut for three or four days around here and even if they're open they'll be nobody serving.

[rebbonk]

Round here, there are plenty of shops advertising that they will be open on Christmas day.

Tesco (Arena) is advertised as being closed from 6PM tonight (Saturday) until 9AM Monday.

Christmas is usually a time for excess, and I'll wager that there's an awful lot going to be wasted by people who can't plan properly or have been swept along with the tide of people.