Retailers brace for spending frenzy

Papamoa Plaza centre manager David Hill and plaza retailers are gearing up for an extremely busy Boxing Day.

Bay shoppers spent up large in the lead up to Christmas Day and local retailers expect the trend to be no different on Boxing Day as consumers snap up bargains.

Papamoa Plaza centre manager David Hill said retail spending at the plaza had been going "gangbusters" with foot traffic this week up by at least 10.4 per cent on last year.

"Our busiest day is usually Christmas Eve with 12,500 shoppers last year, but from December 21 to 23 this year we had 20,000 shoppers on average visiting the centre a day.

"It's been crazy busy. We've wrapped up three times as many presents as last year."

Mr Hill said he expected Boxing Day trading to be even busier.

"Shoppers will find instead of the usual 10 to 15 per cent discount, some of our retailers will be offering 20 to 50 per cent Boxing Day sales discount, which is an outstanding reduction.

"Our retailers are very happy. It's been a great time for retailers and for consumers."

Mr Hill said 40 per cent of retail spend happens in December.

"We expect this December's spending to be well up on last year," he said.

Bayfair Shopping Centre manager Steve Ellingford said he expected Boxing Day trading to be just as busy as the last few days with shoppers turning up in droves.

"Last week our foot traffic was up at least 3 per cent on last year. This week shopper numbers were up by more than 1000 a day on average. By lunchtime Christmas Eve at least 30,000 shoppers visited the centre and a record 32,000 people came through the doors on December 23. It was fantastic news for retailers and customers. It's really a sign of our buoyant economy."

Mr Ellingford said during October and November the average spend across the Bayfair Shopping Centre was up by 10 per cent, and he expected that trend to continue for December and January.

Greerton Village Mainstreet Centre manager Sally Benning said the village had been bustling with shoppers in the lead up to Christmas.

"I'm not too sure what we can expect in terms of Boxing Day sales. We hope it will be just as busy."

Downtown Tauranga manager Sally Cooke said downtown retailers were happy with the Christmas week's trading.

"There has definitely been more people out and about doing last-minute shopping and the cafes and restaurants were extremely busy. Retailers are gearing up for a busy Boxing Day, and of course we all hope it will be busier trading day than last year," she said.

Nationwide, Kiwi shoppers have smashed electronic spending records.

Paymark CEO Mark Rushworth said Christmas Eve was always the busiest shopping day of the year and 2015 proved no different.

"While final sales figures for the day are yet to be collated, Paymark can report that as of 1pm [December 24] Kiwi consumers had already spent in excess of $147 million through the tills.

At its peak, Paymark handled more than 157.46 transactions a second.