Napier city centre's main shopping strip, Emerson St. Photo / NZME
Foot traffic in Napier’s city centre has declined, with the number of people visiting the CBD dipping in 2025 compared to the previous year.
Retailers say factors such as people generally having less money to spend, fewer cruise ships, changes to parking costs and online shopping trends played a part.
Thirteen foot traffic sensors are located around the city centre counting pedestrians walking past stores. The data is monitored by Napier City Council.
None of the sensors broke the one million mark last year in terms of the number of people passing by – which was a first since 2020.
In total, for all 13 sensors, about 6.4 million people passed by the sensors, which was down from about 6.8 million in 2024.
Pedestrians can walk past multiple sensors or cross the same sensor numerous times during a visit to the CBD, meaning it is incorrect to say 6.4 million people visited the city centre in 2025 (or 6.8 million in 2024).
However, the data does provide insight into foot traffic trends.
Not all sensors saw a decline year-on-year. One of the four sensors on Emerson St (at Rembrandt) bucked the trend and had a jump in foot traffic for 2025, while sensors on the likes of Hastings St (near Vinci’s Pizza) and Dalton St (at what is now Mary’s Sewing Studio) also saw increases.
Giftware and Engravers, on Hastings St, owner Andrew Glenny said he had noticed a drop in foot traffic in recent years.
“The last year or two, foot traffic just seems to be a lot less, because I think money has been tight for a lot of people.”
He said during the lead-up to Christmas, it was not as busy as it normally would be.
He said fewer cruise ships in 2025 compared to 2024 had also played a part in the lower figures.
He said more people were going online for shopping as well, and he’d noticed a rise in click-and-collect orders.
“We get a lot of people that do online purchases and do click-and-collect.
“So, if you just park outside and run in and get something, you may not hit the sensors.”
Purple Patch Handcrafts Napier is a shop with locally-made goods on the lower end of Emerson St. One of its volunteers, who did not want to be named, said increased parking costs had impacted foot traffic.
“It’s enough to make people decide where they will go.”
She said, in her opinion, more people were heading to the likes of the shopping hub off Prebensen Drive, with Kmart and Mitre 10, as it was free to park and had eateries.
In October 2024, Napier City Council increased its parking costs around the CBD for the first time in about 20 years, including hourly parking rising from $1 per hour to $2 per hour.
Napier City Council defended the increase at the time stating it was having a positive impact, making it easier for shoppers to find a park.
Life Pharmacy Napier on Emerson St owner Peter Bailey said he had noticed a decline in foot traffic.
He said he would like to see parking fees and restrictions in place on Sundays, like other days, to free up more parking for customers.
Meanwhile, a large store in Napier, Two Dollar Things Plus on Dickens St, closed in December.
The parent company shared on Facebook: “After 10-plus amazing years serving the Napier community (starting as Dollar King in 2014) we are sad to announce that we will be closing our doors.”
The company has been contacted about the closure, and the store is up for lease.
Elsewhere in the region, Hastings District Council does not have regular foot traffic data for the likes of Hastings city centre or Havelock North town centre.
Creative Treasures, on Heretaunga St West, co-owner Wayne Jensen said he hadn’t noticed a significant change to foot traffic around Hastings CBD in recent years.
“It’s up and down,” he said. “I think December for us was a bit quieter [than years gone by] but pre-December was better.”