EDINBURGH is to host its biggest ever co-ordinated series of shopping events in a bid to encourage shoppers into the city centre during tram construction.
The Month of Sundays events will take place each Sunday in September and see shops, bars and restaurants across the city taking part.
Discussions are ongoing with stores but organisers are keen to see a range of in-store events including fashion a
nd new product launches, live music, in-store promotions, exhibitions, menu and drink offers. The string of activities is part of the £100,000-a-year Open for Business scheme designed to attract visitors to still travel into the city centre despite tram works.
Organisers say that the events will also help businesses avoid the post-Festival lull and make Sundays busier.
Graham Birse, deputy chief executive of the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce and chairman of the Open for Business group, said: "Retailers, by their nature, are good at stimulating footfall – it's what they do.
"They can do it through the interior of their store to attract in passers-by.
"But to get passers-by to pass by you need to get people into the city centre in the first place and we do that through our festivals, events, street theatre or whatever else happens in the city centre.
"We thought we would take that a stage further and Sundays are typically a slower retail day and one where families tend to look for something to do, so it gives us an opportunity to get people into the centre."
It is understood city council officials are also looking into encouraging private car park operators to waive parking charges for each Sunday in September.
It is intended that the Month of Sundays events will be held in stores across the main city centre, West End and Leith. And if they are a success this year they will be repeated in 2009.
Gordon Drummond, manager of Harvey Nichols in Edinburgh, said that the tram work directly outside the store's doors could have impacted trade, alongside the credit crunch. But he said: "Certainly, Open for Business is a great initiative in trying to get all retailers to work together.
"Most retailers will see that we can be stronger if we work together, as we have in the past on congestion charging."
Communications firm Burt Greener, which has been given the contract to run the scheme, is to meet businesses along Leith Walk today to discuss ways they can participate.
A full programme is to be produced, to be published in July.
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