Napier CBD business cluster to trial shift from ‘traditional’ trading hours

Napier's Indy Nights begins this Friday and will be held on the first Friday of each month from 5-7pm.

A cluster of Napier independent retailers, galleries and hospitality spots is trialling a new monthly late-night initiative for a rethink of what CBD life after 5pm can look like.

Indy Nights begins this Friday and will be held on the first Friday of each month from 5-7pm.

The businesses involved in the initiative will open their doors after hours, creating a “relaxed Friday-night atmosphere” in the heart of Art Deco city.

The push is led by Elisa Boyd-Dunlop of Boyd Dunlop Gallery, who said the idea grew from conversations about changing shopping habits and the need to adapt.

“Traditional trading hours don’t always suit how people live now,” Boyd-Dunlop said. “We’ve all heard the community say they’d love to see late-night shopping return. This is our way of trialling it together and seeing what’s possible.”

Rather than competing with big-box stores or online shopping, the focus is on experience, collaboration and creating a reason to come back into town at the end of the week.

Visitors might catch an art opening, browse shops, enjoy a drink or bite to eat, or stumble across an in-store activation along the way.

Napier City Business Inc general manager Pip Thompson said the initiative reflected wider conversations about retail evolution.

“Retail can’t stand still. If customer habits are shifting, cities need to evolve too. What’s exciting about Indy Nights is that it’s grassroots – independent businesses stepping up and testing something practical together.”

Lizzie Russell of Tennyson Gallery said the concept builds on the success of after-hours events already embraced by locals.

“We’ve seen how much people love using the city after dark during events like Nuit Blanche. It’s exciting to bring a little snippet of that feeling into something monthly, especially through winter and give people a reason to enjoy everything that makes Napier’s CBD so unique – after 5.”

For Gretta Carney of Hapi, the initiative was also about protecting what makes Napier special.

“Supporting local independent businesses is one of the simplest and most valuable things you can do for your community. Use them or lose them. We’re excited to be part of Indy Nights and hope the town gets in behind it.”

Last year, Thompson said strolling through the main streets of both Hastings and Napier after 5pm, all but a couple of retailers lock up and go home.

“The town quickly turns into a ghost town, with limited options for locals and visitors alike.”

Napier Giftware and Engravers owner Andrew Glenny responded and said he had tried late-night hours in the past, such as 8pm on a Friday in collaboration with others, yet found unless it was promoted and lots of shops were doing it then it was “not worth it”.

“If people don’t know how many shops are going to open, then they are going to be hesitant to open [later],” he said.

“But if you know there are 50 shops doing it, then more people will do it.”

This year’s initiative will begin in “one pocket of Napier’s independent retail and creative precinct”, with organisers hoping more locally owned businesses join over time.

The monthly series will run through to September as a trial, with potential to continue.