Hawkes Bay Boxing Day sales ring up more than $3.4m

Boxing Day shoppers at Mitre 10 Mega, The Park Megacentre, Hastings. PHOTO/ Duncan Brown.

Consumers here spent $3.4 million on Boxing Day, with latest figures showing customers were buying the same amounts as last year - but paying more for them.

Figures from Paymark, which processes more then three-quarters of all credit and debit transactions, showed that shoppers spent more than $3.4m across Hawke's Bay.

Interestingly, the 700,000 transactions that made up the amount was just 0.07 per cent up on last year, making it the nation's lowest rise.

Only Wellington, where the number of transactions dropped by -2.7 per cent, was lower for transaction volumes.

Hastings City Business Association general manager Susan McDade said, while the big national chain stores had been "pumping", many independent retailers on the city's main street chose not to open.

"A lot of purchases were big ticket items and that's a reflection of consumer confidence and the economy.

"Transaction wise, it seemed to be pretty close to the same as last year. I talked to quite a few of the shops on Heretaunga St and they said it was pretty much the same as last year - a couple were quieter and a couple were busier.

"The big winners on Boxing Day are the chain stores, they build all that into their bottom line. There were a couple of independent retailers that were saving sales but a lot of them were shut.

"People like Farmers have really changed the way they do their marketing - their Boxing Day sale started online at midnight on Christmas Day."

A Paymark spokesman said spending across the national network was up 6.4 per cent on Boxing Day 2016 in underlying terms.

"The growth rate was even stronger when limited to those non-food and non-hospitality merchants within the core retail sector. Their underlying annual growth rate was 8.3 per cent.

"Sectors with strong growth included department stores (+67.9 per cent), appliance stores (+52.7 per cent), home decorating stores (+38.1 per cent), toy and game shops (+25.8 per cent), footwear shops (+10.1 per cent) and book shops (+9.1 per cent).

"And sustenance was required while shopping, from the likes of fast food outlets (+16.2 per cent) and restaurants and cafes (+9.3 per cent)."