Surprising scenes outside Smyths superstore where huge crowds were expected

Smyths stores nationwide reopened this morning as Level Three got underway in Ireland.

The toy giant has been closed for six weeks but has been operating a click and collect service as well as delivery during lockdown.

And that might explain why at Tallaght Superstore this morning - despite throngs of people being expected - there was little to no queues.

Videos from the store at the 9am opening time show the odd person strolling in and out but nothing in the way of wait times and queues.

All stores will open until 11pm Monday to Friday until the 23rd of December.

Extended late opening hours will allow for increased customer demand and shorter queues in the run up to the festive season.

Safety measures include social distancing markers in-store, a limit on the number of customers allowed in the store at any given time and a socially distanced queuing system.

The no queues at Smyths is not the case in Penneys however where people have been queuing since as early as 4:30am.

Penneys confirmed last week that its Irish shops will be open until at least 9pm on weekdays throughout December, with some open even later.