Later opening hours at one Tauranga department store could be a sign of the times but other large chains remain convinced the demand is not yet there.
Kmart in Bayfair extended its opening hours to midnight from May 1.
Store manager Forrest Worthen said the main reasons was the changing face of retail coupled with the non-traditional working weeks of many Bay of Plenty residents.
Mr Worthen said research had found many customers were shift workers or came from families with two parents working.
"We have found that our customers are busier and many are juggling multiple commitments between work, kids and healthy social lives to boot.