Good time for Xmas shopping in the Bay

Lydia Farrell, Maddie Mason and Donna Osborn finished the last of their Christmas shopping yesterday. Photo / George Novak

Spending exceeded $248 million in the Bay in the past three weeks, 4.6 per cent up from the same time last year.

Local retail managers enjoyed the increased confidence in the first 22 days of December as retail sales heated up before Christmas, confirmed by the latest figures of spending through the Paymark network.

The Bay was in line with a national increase of 4.6 per cent over the same period, with $3.9 billion spent nationwide.

The Bay saw 4.92 million transactions from December 1 to 22, up by 7 per cent from last year.

Donna Osborn with her daughter Lydia Farrell and friend Maddie Mason were among the spenders yesterday as they braved the crowds to finish up their Christmas shopping. They shopped in Tauranga to avoid the crowds of Bayfair and to make the most of the independent stores, Ms Osborn said.

She had started her Christmas shopping in Labour weekend but needed to buy some last minute decorations yesterday after the rain kept them at home last week.

Paymark head of customer relations Mark Spicer said a late start to summer and lower fuel prices could have impacted the overall spending. "Additionally, an increasing number of retailers are starting their Boxing Day sales before Christmas which may be contributing to the increase in the number of transactions we're processing, but the value may be slightly lower."

-Palm Beach Plaza manager David Hill said foot traffic was up in the plaza by more than 10 per cent compared to last year.

"There's been significant gains and we're chuffed with how the plaza is going. Across the board we're performing above the Paymark figures," he said. He thought there was more confidence in the industry and looked forward to a good summer as visitors boosted the local economy in the New Year period.

-Downtown Tauranga spokeswoman Sally Cooke said it was great to see such a positive increase in the latest data.

"Christmas is always a good opportunity for the retail sector to get that much needed boost."

Foot traffic through the city centre had been steadily increasing with the busiest day yet recorded on Monday, she said.

-Mount Mainstreet manager Peter Melgren said more confidence and job security had boosted retail sales in the pre-Christmas rush. "People have more disposable income and more to play with ... the economy seems to be heading in the right direction."

He expected the rush to continue through the end of December and in to January. "There's a hell of a lot of people that come through here in the last weekend of December."

-Fraser Cove centre manager Marie Mischewski said the retailers were very happy with how trading was going and the late night shopping had been popular.

Spending had picked up when the weather had improved, she said. "Good weather is the thing that prompts spending on clothing. Fashion certainly gets a boost in summer with parties and things."

-Bethlehem Town Centre manager Andrew Wadsworth was not surprised to see the increase confirmed in the Paymark figures and said the centre had been experiencing the pre-Christmas growth since mid-November.