The freezing rain and biting wind did not seem to bother the shoppers.
In Glasgow the Christmas retail rush was in full swing yesterday as people battled the elements in the street and the crowds in shopping malls.
Toys and technology created the greatest interest, though some of the busiest places were supermarkets.
One family spent three hours in the busy city centre Apple store buying iPads for their two young daughters.
A shopper at the Braehead shopping mall in Renfrewshire said: "It's totally mental today - but yesterday was even worse."
In Aberdeen, the Union Square shopping centre reported a 9% surge in footfall in the week up to and including Saturday, with the PS4 PlayStation, homewares, sleepware and engagement rings the top sellers.
Meanwhile, Silverburn in Glasgow was enjoying a 5% boost during the same period.
Although actual sales figures for December have yet to be released, the increased footfall raised hopes that the general decline in retail shopping was continuing to ease more in Scotland than in the rest of the UK.
In November, shopper numbers in Scotland were 0.3% lower than last year: a significant improvement on the 2.7% decline in October.
John Lewis sales to December 8 rose by 1.8% compared to last year, though the week-on-week comparison dipped by 1.7%.
According to the British Retail Consortium, footfall in the rest of the UK fell 2.9% in November, compared to last year.
Many high-street chains have attempted to offset this by starting their traditional Boxing Day sales earlier.
By contrast, online sales are forecast to increase by almost 20% on last year to £5 billion this Christmas, according to forecasters at Deloitte. This would help bring total sales over the festive season to more than £40bn - a rise of 3.5% on 2012.
With shoppers now more accustomed to the flexible delivery times offered by shopping online, retailers have been preparing themselves for the rush with an estimated 20,000 click-and-collect points across Britain. In supermarkets, both Aldi and Waitrose posted increased sales.
The relaunched Tesco Finest range is surging ahead with 16% year-on-year growth and Sainsbury's Taste the Difference lifting sales by 12%.
One in five respondents in a recent Kantar poll said that they would be spending more on food and presents this year, although most planned to spend about the same, and 28% planned to spend less. More than one quarter won't be buying decorations this year.
David Martin, head of policy at the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: "Although still marginally down on 2012, it's encouraging to see that footfall recovered in November after a steep drop in the previous month.
"However, increased numbers of Scottish shoppers haven't yet started translating into a notable pick-up in sales.
"Many customers remain cautious and cash-conscious, and may have been holding off on much of their seasonal spending until December.
"Other factors are at play, too, including multi-channel offers and the fact that Christmas Day falls on a Wednesday, giving shoppers the confidence to leave much of their spending until later."
Nevertheless, pester power remains as strong as ever, with Xbox One, PlayStation 4, an Aldi Medion Lifetab, A Tesco Hudl, an iPad, a Google Nexus 7 tablet and Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 the top wish-list items.
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