Retailers predict strong pre-Christmas spend will extend to Boxing Day

Val Auld from Cabbages and Kings says she has had a hectic Christmas season. Photo/Andrew Warner

Bay of Plenty shopping centres have gone crazy as people cram in last-minute Christmas shopping with latest figures showing retail spending growth was the second-highest in the country last week.

Paymark's latest report showed the national tally through its outlets for the first 21 days of December was up 7 per cent on last year, with spending growth accelerating to reach 8.7 per cent in the period from December 15-21. Bay of Plenty retail spending was up 12.6 per cent compared to the corresponding week in 2015, and up 10.7 per cent for the 21-day period.

During the week from December 15-21, the Bay of Plenty was just behind Otago, which was up 12.7 per cent, and ahead of Hawke's Bay, which was up 12.4 per cent for the week.

Total Bay of Plenty spending for the week was $105.4 million, bringing its three-week total to $280 million. Paymark said the strength in the three regional centres suggested an early shift to the holiday resorts.

Representatives of major retailers in Tauranga confirmed they were seeing strong growth, with Papamoa Plaza centre manager David Hill saying some of its tenant' were hitting 20 per cent growth on last year.

"It's just gone crazy," he said, adding that in his experience of 30 years in retail, the busiest days of the year were the 24th and the 26th.

"That hasn't changed. What has changed is that Christmas last year was on a Friday so everyone finished work on Thursday and it was a mad rush to shop on the Thursday afternoon. This year it's on Sunday, so Friday and Saturday are just going to be crazy nights. We've been busier than last year already, but we're expecting this massive double hit."

Mr Hill said the opening of the plaza's food court was also having a significant effect on foot traffic and sales.

Bayfair Shopping Centre manager Steve Ellingford said traffic had been picking up in the past few days.

"We're expecting a strong run into Christmas, with late night trading, and Kmart opening 24/7. I think people will spend right up until Christmas and they'll be straight back out and into the Boxing Day sales. It just does not end."

Bethlehem Town Centre manager Andrew Wadsworth said that spending was expected to be up on last year, even putting to one side the expected impact of Kmart, which opened earlier in the year.

"It's been busy all month, but yesterday was notable for it getting very busy," he said. "I'm expecting Friday and Saturday to be exceptional, as well as Boxing Day. We will probably get to mid-January before it dies off. Our retailers are very happy."

Mount Main Street manager Ingrid Fleming said she felt low mortgage rates and the recent increase in residential property values were encouraging retail spending.

"The Mount is a holiday destination and a lot of people love to shop in their holidays because they don't get a lot of time often when they're working. We are expecting that to continue through the holiday period."

Sally Cooke, spokeswoman for central business district retail organisation Mainstreet Tauranga, said the feedback from its members was positive for the Christmas period.

"They seem quite buoyed up," she said.

"We always want to see a really healthy trade going into Christmas because it's such an important time for our retail sector. And the whole Boxing Day sale trend is just getting bigger and bigger every year. I think some of the Boxing Day sales are pretty close to rivalling the pre-Christmas shopping days, so that's good for the sector because spending flows on beyond Christmas."