Bay of Plenty shopping centres expect Boxing Day rush: 'Our biggest Christmas ever'

Papamoa Plaza centre manager David Hill said they were on track for their biggest Christmas yet. Photo / Andrew Warner

More carparks are being made available, security is ramping up, and extra staff called in, as retailers prepare for what is expected to be one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

Shoppers are expected to burst through the doors of shopping centres in Tauranga, Mount Maunganui, Tauriko and Pāpamoa today in search of Boxing Day bargains.

Paymark EFTPOS transaction data for the Bay of Plenty region showed non-fuel spending for December 22 and 23 totalled $30.1m, up 1.4 per cent on the same period last year.

"Over the weekend, gift buying continued aplenty but food and liquor spending took on greater prominence," a Paymark spokesperson said.

Spending across the country over the weekend through the Paymark network, excluding fuel merchants, jumped 18 per cent from the previous weekend to $429m.

This was 3.1 per cent above the pre-Christmas weekend spend last year.

Papamoa Plaza centre manager David Hill said December 23 and 26 were the busiest days of the year for the plaza.

"We are on track for our biggest Christmas ever," he said. "Boxing Day will be a huge day for us. It is also our biggest voucher redemption day."

Hill said there were 10 per cent more shoppers through the doors and 20 per cent more people taking up the centre's free gift-wrapping service.

Christmas was typically a busy time of year, with this year's foot traffic already 12 per cent up on 2017 - a total 2.8 million shoppers were counted through the doors last year.

"We are expecting a big rush at the end of the year," Hill said.

Hill put this year's Christmas rush down to the fact Pāpāmoa was growing, along with a retail boom in the Bay of Plenty.

Bayfair Shopping Centre manager Steve Ellingford said the complex had extended its trading hours leading up to Christmas and would be opening its doors an hour earlier on Boxing Day.

Additional customer service, cleaning and food court staff had been called in before Christmas and Boxing Day, as well as extra security.

There were also more than 40 extra carparks outside the new part of the shopping centre off Farm St, as well as pedestrian access from both Harris and Carter Streets.

Ellingford said between 33,000 and 38,000 people had traditionally come through the doors on Boxing Day, and staff were planning another busy day this year, with the opening of the first stage of its redevelopment.

"Talking to a number of retailers over the last few weeks December has started strongly, and our expectation is this trend will continue," he said.

Tauranga Crossing centre manager Andrew Wadsworth said extra carparking, traffic management, security, cleaning and customer service staff had also been organised for the Boxing Day rush.

Wadsworth said the complex had experienced significant growth since opening a further 19 stores this year, with the number of shoppers through the doors proving strong.

Fraser Cove Shopping Centre asset manager Marie Mischewski said Boxing Day sales started a week before December 26.

Mischewski said Boxing Day was as big as the Christmas Eve rush and there were always queues of people lining up outside The Warehouse on December 26.

She believed many people received money for Christmas, which helped push the trend of big numbers on Boxing Day.

Jessica Porter and her children Kaia Leydon, 3, and Maika Leydon, 8 months, pose with Santa at Papamoa Plaza. Photo / Andrew Warner

SMILE WITH SANTA
Baby Maika Leydon got his first photo with Santa this Christmas.

Mum Jessica Porter held her 8-month-old baby boy while her 3-year-old daughter, Kaia Leydon, posed by Santa's side.

Porter said this year's Santa photo was even more special as it was her baby boy's first Christmas.

However, it was her daughter's second time posing with the man in the red suit.

"This is the first year she is getting into it and understanding it, and understanding who Santa is," Porter said.

The mother of two said family photos with Santa were a great idea to be able to look back at how much the children had grown over the years.

"The grandparents always like to see a copy of it, too," she said.