Shoppers splurge on Christmas

FULL TROLLEY: Sisters Blake and Tahla Pointon with their shopping goods from their first Christmas spend up. PHOTO/RUTH KEBER

An extra 40,000 shoppers trampled through Bayfair this week as pre-Christmas-shopping fever ramped up in the Bay.

Other shopping precincts around the Bay also experienced an increase in spending and foot traffic through their doors - with one reporting a 10 per cent lift in trade on last December.

The splurge in spending comes after the latest Paymark figures showed Bay shoppers spent $147.5 million in the first two weeks of December compared with $140.3 million for the same period last year.

In total, 152,000 people visited Bayfair over the past week. On an average week, the mall would see between 110,000 and 115,000 depending on the time of year.

Steve Ellingford, Bayfair centre manager, said 369,770 people had been through Bayfair since the start of the month.

It would be the mall's busiest December in 12 years if the trend in higher foot traffic continued, he said.

"The feedback we are receiving is that customers are in a positive mood and traditionally the weekend and the days leading up to Christmas are the busiest of the year and we would expect this trend to be no different this year."

Mr Ellingford predicted forecasted rain would see Christmas shoppers back out in force over the weekend.

"So we are expecting a very busy Saturday and Sunday and have rostered additional car-park attendants on to assist our customers find a free car park with ease over the weekend."

Bayfair shopper Tahla Pointon, 21, said the mall had been extremely busy.

"The best way to get through it is to ignore other people and do what you go to do."

The Papamoa resident had been to the Papamoa Plaza too and had been through about 10 stores at each mall.

"It's loud and hectic, there are people walking around who don't quite know what they doing so they stand in the way and you are trying to push past. It's crazy with kids everywhere too."

Palm Beach Plaza centre manager David Hill said the shopping centre had seen a big increase in foot traffic.

"This December is about 10 per cent up from last December."

Mr Hill said because Palm Beach Plaza staff did not park within the centre's car park areas they did not normally see a problem with parking.

"There are car parks available but you have to go hunting for them. We do have 650 car parks but obviously the parks at the door are at a premium and get easier to find the further you get towards the road."

Mr Hill expected this weekend to be "crazy" saying the weekend before Christmas was the busiest.

"A lot of people realise December 24 is the busiest trading day of the year so they try and bring it forward to this weekend."

Mount Mainstreet manger Peter Melgren said the Mount had been really busy too and "there was not a parking spot to be seen".

Mr Melgren said the retailers he had spoken to said they were up for the month of December so far indicating a 5 per cent increase.

Mr Melgren said he expected another big influx of Christmas shoppers to the Mount today.

"The Mount has a point of difference, within a very small space there is a concentration of really good gift shops which you don't see anywhere else in the Western Bay which does attract a fair number of people."

Downtown Tauranga spokesperson Sally Cooke said the city was looking more active with lots of people bustling around the streets.

"We get our absolute rush in the last few days, this weekend will be lining up to being a really solid retail period through to next week. Numbers appear to be on the increase with heightened activity on the streets," she said.

Fashion Island centre manager Jill McKenzie said it had been getting busier last week and she expected it to pick up even more this weekend.

Fraser Cove North Beach's Tegan Samson said Fraser Cove had huge crowds. "There have been so many people, it's almost too hard to explain. It's crazy. I think this weekend is going to be madness and mayhem with everybody doing their last-minute Christmas shopping.

"We have been really busy the last two days as well, the car parks are full all day, everyday. There are just so many people coming through here."