"It's exciting and wonderful here," she said, walking out of The Warehouse.
"You meet a lot of people you haven't seen for many years, and you can also get a present for someone who may have been missed off the list.
"It's a good way to shop for an item and also stock up on wrapping paper and cards for next Christmas."
The Warehouse Rotorua store manager Sally Rison said the atmosphere was "mayhem" for much of the day.
"It's been absolutely crazy since we opened with long queues outside the door at 8.30am," she said.
Staff numbers were doubled to cope with the influx of shoppers, she said. By mid-afternoon - with six hours still to go before the store closed at 8pm - long queues were still evident at checkout counters.
A wide variety of items were being bought from outdoor furniture to Christmas wrapping.
Many people were bringing in vouchers given as presents to redeem.
However, there were fewer "returns" than in previous years, she said.
Boxing Day was normally one of the store's biggest retail days, she added. "We had a huge day on Christmas Eve ... it was very hard to close the doors at 9pm and we were still turning people away at 9.30pm."
Several people had been apprehended by security staff trying to leave the store without paying for their items, she said.
Amid the rush to find a gift at a reduced price, people still found time to relax and have their haircut.
A spokeswoman at Pero's hair salon said business had been steady throughout the day.
