Data reveals busiest and quietest shopping times in Dublin city centre

It might be hard to believe but this weekend will be the second last before Santa comes down the chimney and the turkey is laid out on the Christmas dinner table.

There are doubtless many people reading this who have yet to start their Christmas shopping and while it is a year like no other, now is not the time for excuses. Yep, you're just going to have to suck it up and drag yourself into town where you're bound to be stuck queuing for hours on end. That's if you don't plan correctly, that is. New data has revealed the quietest and busiest city centre shopping times from last weekend and it will come in very handy if you're planning on hitting the shops over the next couple of days. The statistics were revealed by Liz Canavan, Assistant Secretary-General at the Department of the Taoiseach, and they show that Dublin city centre was 80% busier last weekend than it was the previous weekend before Covid-19 restrictions were eased. In fact, it was the busiest weekend in the city since March and the data shows that 2pm- 3pm was the busiest time for shoppers. In contrast, 9am - 10am was the quietest time, which shows the value of setting your alarm early this weekend. Traffic volume was also up by 40% last weekend and after a tough year, the signs of life appear to coming back to the city, for now at least. If you are hitting the shops tomorrow be sure to follow Dublin City Council's queueing guidelines and all HSE advice on preventing the spread of coronavirus, which can be found here. (header image: Shutterstock) READ NEXT: WATCH: Dublin Airport shares emotional history of people arriving for Christmas