Christmas shopping ended on a rich note for Whangarei retailers as thousands of people took advantage of the Boxing Day sales.
The central city, Tarewa and Okara Park retail centres were yesterday jammed with shoppers getting their money's worth out of what has become an annual tradition, post-Christmas Day bargain hunting.
Some shopkeepers described the day's sales as the icing on the cake after their best pre-Christmas turnover in years.
First-time Boxing Day shoppers, mother and daughter Donna and Eden Palmer who had a spend-up in the city centre, said they are now converts, having "got the bargains we wanted and more".
Their shopping was for clothes and other personal items, not late Christmas gifts. The prospect of day-after bargains won't mean spending in future gets delayed a few days.
"No way. I would never scrimp on Christmas," Mrs Palmer said.
About one third of shops were not open in Cameron St Mall and nearby streets.
Donna Newman, owner of Stirling Sports, said the day had "been great", with clothes, sports equipment, shoes and fishing gear proving popular purchases.
"You'd be silly if you aren't open today," she said.
Mrs Newman said quite a few customers were people from Auckland heading north for a holiday. They stopped in Whangarei to stock up on Boxing Day bargains away from the chaos and parking problems of the big city.
Figures on yesterday's big spend were not available at edition time but pre-Christmas spending across New Zealand included a whopping $255 million on December 23, the highest ever spending day recorded through the Paymark network, and up 8.8% on last year.
Paymark's Head of Customer Relations Mark Spicer said the figures indicate that more people are leaving Christmas shopping until the last minute.