Boxing Day rush sees record sales turnover

Shoppers were still searching for deals at various stores around Rotorua. This photo was taken at The Warehouse in the Central Mall yesterday. Photo / Stephen Parker

Boxing Day sales in Rotorua were as busy as predicted with sales data eclipsing last year's figures with a record amount of turnover.

According to Paymark, a record Boxing Day in the Bay of Plenty saw about 200,000 transactions processed through its network, a 12.6 per cent increase on last year.

In terms of money spent, $11.4m was put through the Paymark system in the Bay, a 13.1 per cent increase on 2014.

Rotorua Central Mall assistant property manager Gary Herbert said he visited the mall mid-morning on Boxing Day to find the carpark full to capacity.

"It was full on. The carpark was totally chocka," he said.

"I went back again at 5.30pm and it was still going well with at least a half-full carpark.

"I would say it was a very successful day, as expected, with everybody cashing in their vouchers and what not," Mr Herbert said.

The Body Shop Rotorua assistant manager Lily Boyes said she also had a very busy Boxing Day, but a much quieter day yesterday during their two-day sale.

"We had a much better [Boxing Day] than last year. Town was really busy.

"Today [Sunday] was a lot quieter with people saying they did not come in yesterday because they knew most places had two-day sales," she said.

Rotorua Chamber of Commerce chief executive Darrin Walsh said Boxing Day was predictably busy and another Christmas boon for retailers.

"The city was very busy and it was great to see the spend was up. It tops off what has been a very good year," he said.

A total of $151.7m was spent across the country - a 11.2 per cent increase in spending year on year through Paymark.

Paymark chief executive Mark Rushworth said while Christmas Eve was always the biggest day of the year, Boxing Day gave the retailers an extra boost.

He said the spending spree on Boxing Day was particularly strong in the regions with the Bay of Plenty, Otago, and Hawke's Bay all recording strong annual growth.