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?
5. William Meek's
Owner Alex Hatton with a selection of men's shirts at William Meek's, on South Clerk Street, Edinburgh, in April 1989 | TSPL
6. Globetrotter
Owner Alfred de Angelis outside the Globetrotter fish and chip shop in Bruntsfield, Edinburgh, in December 1988 | TSPL
7. Rag shop
Owner Brendan O'Brien outside Nathan's Marine Stores, a rag shop in Cowgate, Edinburgh, in July 1988 | TSPL
8. The Old Ship
David & Tina Pettigrew and their daughter in The Old Ship gift shop and tearoom in Dunbar, in April 1988 | TSPL