Last-minute shoppers fill stores

The Christmas retail rush has been slow to start this year with the Rugby World Cup and general election offering a distraction for the early bird shoppers, but traffic in Masterton shops is picking up the pace in the last week leading to the big day.

According to Paymark figures, Wairarapa and Wanganui have yet to benefit noticeably from the festive season in the first two weeks of December, with figures around the same as last year.

From December 1 to 14, Wairarapa pushed $18.3 million through the tills, just a 0.4 per cent rise on last year's $18.2million.

Paper Plus owner Russell Carthew said he had expected things to pick up later than usual because of the election, but the store was now flat out.

"It's really feeling like Christmas now, even though it was a little bit late, but we knew it would be. We're trading really well now so we're very happy about that, and it actually looks like we're going to be slightly up on last year," Mr Carthew said.

Christmas card sales were slightly down owing to more people using electronic means to extend greetings as cookbooks proved to be the most popular gift.

"Every year, it never ceases to amaze me how popular cook books are. Annabel Langbein, Al Brown, Jo Seagar, Jamie Oliver, and so many others are selling really well and they make a really nice gift," he said.

"We also have lots of lovely New Zealand non-fiction books which are really popular and always sell quite well at Christmas time. I've found that books are still a gift people like giving, there hasn't been a fall-off from book sales at all."

As the name suggests, cooking accessories are also a popular gift choice at Cookware Essentials in Kuripuni, and owner Pam Tindall said the high-end products are particularly in demand.

"It's the higher-end stuff, the good quality stuff that's selling quite well this year. I think this year people are thinking more about their gifts and getting things that are more practical, that you can get a lot of use out of, rather than just junk," Ms Tindall said.

Cookware Essentials has also been flat out in the lead-up to Christmas, but the rush had started later than previous years.

"It was a bit slower getting going, but it's still been busy. Last year wasn't too bad, just the mad rush came a bit earlier," she said.

Gift shop Lennox Design on Queen St had seen an increase in traffic over the last two weeks, but sales assistant Mary Blakemore said the Rugby World Cup, the general election, and a lack of Christmas decorations in the town centre has meant a late start for Christmas shoppers.

"It's going well at the moment, people are really starting to get in the Christmas spirit now, although I think the town itself needs to be a lot more Christmassy. There are no decorations, not even any lights," Ms Blakemore said.

The most popular items have varied, from novelty items to glassware and soaps.

"Everything has been selling well really, we've got a real mixture of stuff so I can't really pinpoint what's selling the best," Ms Blakemore said.