After a slower start to November things seem to have burst into busy mode this week in Hastings, says Hastings City Business Association manager Susan McDade.
She hoped the momentum would continue through until Christmas despite there no longer being free parking in the central business district.
"While last year saw a massive increase in sales on Heretaunga St, partly due to free parking, we still hope to have a good Christmas season this year."
K-Mart manager Jonathan Malone had reported a further increase over last year with much of the Christmas stock flying out the door, she said.
With just two months to go until Christmas, Retail NZ predicted that consumers would spend a record $17.4 billion in the lead up to the big day, but noted retailers were still facing intense competition.
"We know that some customers have already started their Christmas shopping, and that Kiwis are getting ready for the busy summer barbecue period," said Retail NZ general manager for public affairs Greg Harford.
"November and December are very busy months for retail in New Zealand. Online spending will likely peak in November, and we estimate Kiwis will spend a total of $17.4 billion over the next two months across all retail categories, up around 5 per cent from last year."
He warned, however, that despite the likely increase in spending, it was not all rosy for retailers.
"Across the sector, retailers face strong competition from each other domestically, as well as from global websites that have massive scale.
"While spending will likely be up over the next couple of months, margins are under real pressure, economic uncertainty is likely to put pressure on consumer spending, and many retailers are struggling to hit their sales targets."
In Hastings, Ms McDade said the association was supporting retailers to provide a great shopping experience with Santa's Wonderland, live entertainment on the footpaths and window decals for all the shops.
She acknowledged that online shopping was always a challenge for retail, especially from overseas sellers who did not have GST applied to their products.
"Many of the Hastings retailers have embraced the online opportunity to offer their customers multiple ways to shop as well as a great in-store experience."
Overall, she said Hastings retailers were rocking at the moment and poised to make the most of the busiest time of the year.