The opening of discount supermarket Lidl in Abingdon has attracted queues and shoppers now have plenty of choice when it comes to the weekly shop.

Supermarket chains have steadily been opening new branches across Oxfordshire in recent years with discount chains Lidl and Aldi among the newest arrivals.

Waitrose opened a new store in Botley Road in 2015, while in 2018 M&S opened its new foodhall in Didcot as part of the phase two opening of the Orchard Centre.

Shoppers queue outside Waitrose in Botley Road in 2015

Shoppers queue outside Waitrose in Botley Road in 2015

Last year Co-op opened its new branch as part of the new West Way development at Botley.

There was plenty of excitement at the Orchard Centre when phase two opened in 2018, with staff from H&M dancing outside the new store.

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Shoppers at the time said they had rarely seen the town centre so busy as crowds came out for a chance to browse the shops including H&M, TK Maxx and the foodhall.

Staff at H&M even broke into a choreographed dance routine before handing out vouchers to the first customers through the door.

Andy Berger-North, who directed the project for developer Hammerson, said: at the time: "I am amazed, we knew it was going to be good but not like this.

"The amount of people here show it is already a success.

Orchard Centre’s M&S foodhall opens in 2018

Orchard Centre’s M&S foodhall opens in 2018

"We are taking our time, getting the right retailers in for the town's needs.

"It's a rapidly expanding area and businesses want to be a part of this."

Matt Eastgate, the new store manager at the M&S foodhall, said people had been waiting for it to open for a long time.

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He added: "The regeneration here is a massive draw and the community will thrive off it. This place was made for M&S."

Mr Eastgate, who was transferred from the Bicester store, said the majority of staff were local residents.

The new Co-op opens at West Way in Botley in 2020

The new Co-op opens at West Way in Botley in 2020

Shoppers scramble to get inside John Lewis on its opening day at Westgate in 2017

Shoppers scramble to get inside John Lewis on its opening day at Westgate in 2017

While Orchard Centre phase two attracted a big crowd in 2018 it could not compare with the number of shoppers who flocked to the new Westgate Centre in 2017.

Read again: New Co-op store opens at West Way in Botley

When John Lewis opened there was a scrum of shoppers outside, waiting to get through the doors.