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?
21. Walton's
David Cluny with a selection of fish for sale at Walton's fishmongers, on Clerk Street, Edinburgh, in March 1989 | TSPL
22. Toys R Us
Two-year-old Kieran Casey in his pedal car, amazed at all the toys on sale at the Toys R Us superstore in Edinburgh, in September 1989 | TSPL
23. John Menzies
Singer Donnie Munro signs a copy of Scottish rock band Runrig's latest album for Claire Mungavin, aged nine, at John Menzies, Edinburgh, in September 1989 | TSPL
24. Rare catch
Passers-by stop to gawp at a 12ft basking shark, caught by mistake and delivered to Edie Brothers fishmonger in Edinburgh, in November 1989 | TSPL