From fallen high street giants like BHS, C&A and Toys R US to cherished independent stores like Casey’s sweet shop, Jenners department store, many of these businesses have sadly shut their doors for goods since these nostalgic pictures were captured.
But others have weathered the storms, including Covid and online shopping, and are still flourishing all these years later.
Toy shops, record stores, award-winning butchers and fishmongers, and fashion outlets are among the firms pictured in this retro photo gallery.
Chart-toppers Wet, Wet Wet, and the legendary ballet dancer Dame Margot Fonteyn are among the famous visitors pictured, at HMV and a famous Glasgow bookstore, respectively.
But these atmospheric images also show ordinary customers, from an 18-month-old getting fitted for shoes and a young girl playing with Sylvanian Families characters to one of the first shoppers through the doors of a new Argos store.
Among the shops pictured is the fabulously named Sheepish Looks knitwear store, the treasure trove discount outlet Ali’s Cave, and a fishmonger’s with a very unusual catch on display.
How many of these stores do you recognise, and what shop from the 80s do you miss most?
For more 80s nostalgia, why not check out this look back at the most popular perfumes and aftershaves of the decade?
1. Valvona and Crolla
Philip Contini (left), owner of Valvona and Crolla delicatessen, in Edinburgh, in 1988. | TSPL
2. John Smith's
Ballet dancer Dame Margot Fonteyn signs copies of her book, Magic of the Dance, at John Smith's bookshop in Glasgow, in January 1980 | TSPL
3. Casey's
Edinburgh sweet shop owner and confectioner Jimmy Casey with a jar of 'Soor Plooms' in February 1988. | TSPL
4. The Barras market
Betty McAllister at the window of her fish shop at The Barras market in Glasgow, in July 1982 | TSPL