Shoppers out in droves in last weekend before Christmas

People shop at Westfield St Lukes shopping centre in the lead-up to Christmas Day. New Zealand Herald Photograph by Steven McNichol

Shopping centres were packed with shoppers today as the scramble to buy last-minute Christmas presents intensifies.

Sylvia Park centre manager Lauren Riley said the popular Auckland mall was "incredibly busy" with a "steady flow of customers" throughout the centre.

"There aren't any isolated areas of where they're all going to shop. Certainly our international retailers, H&M and Zara particularly, are drawing people in, but all stores are busy."

The mall's 'super shoppers', who offered customers advice on what to get for hard-to-buy family members, and gift wrapping station were in high demand yesterday, she said.

Sylvia Park retailers were bracing themselves for even more crowds.

Customers were expected to keep streaming in until closing time at 10pm tonight and the Christmas rush would likely continue when trading hours were extended to midnight on Monday, Riley said.

"It's only going to get busier during the week. Christmas has always been busy, but I think this one is going to be slightly busier. We've just seen an edge up on where were last year."

Westfield spokeswoman Debra McGhie said all six New Zealand centres had been busy today, with St Lukes and Albany drawing particularly big crowds.

"They've been full on."

It was difficult to predict whether Westfield malls would get even busier this week, McGhie said, because some people would be heading out of town before Christmas, while others would leave all their shopping to Christmas Eve.

"Traditionally that last weekend before Christmas is busy, but last year there were a couple days during the week that spiked too. What the weather's doing comes into it as well."

Both McGhie and Riley said specific figures on foot traffic and turnover today were unavailable.