For night owls and shopaholics who can't resist shopping, Saturday will be the new Fridays, as Late Night Shopping becomes a weekly staple every weekend from Sept 1.

Shoppers can look forward to more deals and promotional activities, with participating malls lining up music, magic, cabaret, mime and dance performances to add buzz to Orchard Road.

Mr Andrew Phua, Singapore Tourism Board?s (STB) Director of Cluster Development, Tourism Shopping and Dining, said: "Besides becoming more vibrant with the influx of new international brands, the entire retail experience here is also changing to accommodate the increasingly nocturnal lifestyles of locals and visitors.

"The new Late Night Shopping on Saturday is intended to cater to larger segments of the population, especially families who combine shopping with other weekend leisure activities," he added.

The Late Night Shopping initiative along Orchard Road complements other precincts offering lifestyle options after-hours around the city centre, such as the entertainment and dining outlets along the Singapore River and at Marina Bay, as well as the street bazaars and eateries that open late at Bras Basah/Bugis.

Tourism shopping amounted to S$3.69 billion in 2006, contributing almost half of total tourist expenditure. The STB is looking to grow this tourism pillar in a bid to realise its target of attracting 17 million visitors and S$30 billion in tourism receipts by 2015.

There will be a bumper weekend of shopping on Friday, Aug 31 and Saturday, Sept 1, to mark the transition from the final Friday Late Night Shopping to the new Saturday Late Night Shopping.

Four malls, TANGS Orchard, Wisma Atria, Paragon and The Centrepoint, will open until 11pm. Shoppers can look forward to promotional activities such as redemptions of gifts, shopping vouchers and taxi vouchers with minimum purchase made, as well as scheduled street-level performances along Orchard Road.