Boxing Day sale madness kicks off

It'll take more than a food coma or hangover to stop shoppers catching a bargain it seems. Harvey Norman is heaving today as punters fill their boots on heavily discounted electronics and with Ultra HD televisions selling for only $697, who can blame them.

Parking attendants were directing a stream of traffic into the Mt Roskill electronics store where prices on some items had been slashed.

One Mt Albert man said he was "stoked" with a handbeater he purchased for well under half price while a cashier said $15 rice cookers had been popular and microwaves had also been selling well.

Harvey Norman in Mt Roskill was heaving already at just after 8am this morning. Photo / Grant Bradley

At 11.30am at St Luke's mall, the stores were heaving but the crowds weren't manic and carparks were aplenty.

The Herald arrived just after 11am and got a park within five minutes on the first floor and spaces seemed to be freeing up quite quickly.

Erin Culleton, 25, and Aaron Goddard, 30, got to the centre about 10am, found a park easily to knock off their shopping lists.

"It was a quick in and out, really," said Goddard.

They each got themselves a pair of shoes at Platypus which has taken 20 per cent off its already reduced stock.

And Culleton was especially pleased with her purchases from Decjuba which has 50 per cent off everything.

They didn't find the crowds as bad as they were expecting and now plan to spend the rest of the day cleaning the house and relaxing.

Erin Culleton, 25, and Aaron Goddard, 30, got to the centre about 10am, found a park easily to knock off their shopping lists. Photo / Amelia Wade

At stores like Pandora and Platypus, offering 10 per cent off storewide and up to 70 per cent respectively, staff were only letting a certain number of shoppers in at a time with queue ropes to organise the crowds.

But the sales weren't for everyone.

Ricky Lim, of Browns Bay, was sitting playing Candy Crush on his phone while his wife, Anie, and son, Richard, hit the shops for two hours.

The family got to the mall at 9am and Ricky Lim said they had to wait up to 10 minutes to get a park.

As he was talking to the Herald, his family returned with their arms full of Farmers bags.

Anie Lim said her favourite thing amongst the bargains was the underwear and socks.

Ricky wasn't so interested and preferred to just wait it out.

"It's boring," he said.

Ricky Lim preferred to play on his phone than hit the stores. Photo / Amelia Wade

Shoppers queue to grab a bargain at Pandora. Photo / Amelia Wade

Co-ordinator of Kmart St Luke's, Vijay Padala, said by about 1pm they'd seen 1,500 people through their doors today.

But their busiest time was between 10am and 10.30pm with the surge easing by midday.

Staff were coping with the crowds well, Padala said.

The most popular items were the old Christmas stock and chocolates which are both 50 per cent off.

However, there aren't any other heavily reduced items currently on sale.

Toy World manager at Hamilton's Base Debbie Gray said the store had been busy from 9am with a lull about midday when people stopped for lunch.

Boxing Day and 23 December had been the Te Rapa's store's busiest days and she said people who were going in today were after a bargain.

"People saw Christmas as the weekend - Saturday and Sunday - and they are back out shopping today.

"It's really really busy today."

The Base assistant centre manager Karl Sawyer said shoppers started arriving from 7am and expected it would be busy until later this afternoon.

He said the traffic management plans in place were working and waits for car parks had not been too long. Pedestrian traffic was slightly up on last year's Boxing Day while traffic numbers were the same, he said.

Sylvia Park was preparing for a busy day early this morning, with barricades set up outside shops for the incoming queues.

At 11.45am, Sylvia Park spokesperson Lauren Riley said the shopping centre was "buzzing" with customers.

"Our retailers have additional staff rostered this time of year, ready for the biggest day of the retail year," Riley said.

"We are expecting tens of thousands to visit to grab a bargain, especially with the introduction of several new retailers this year," she said.

Boxing day came early this year with a number of retailers pushing go on Christmas Eve.

Online retailer Mighty Ape's Boxing Day sale began on Saturday, with some items being offered at 80 per cent off.

Smith and Caughey's Boxing Day sale started yesterday, offering customers price reductions through their online store.

Research undertaken by Mastercard found a quarter of New Zealanders will make purchases on Boxing Day, despite half of Kiwis saying the rush in the shopping centres the day after Christmas is stressful and not worth the hassle.

Mastercard country manager for New Zealand Peter Chisnall said there is an increasing group of people who take advantage of the sales and buy their gifts after Christmas.

The research found half of Kiwis felt getting presents for the big day was more important than getting a better price later.

"Kiwis are more likely to take advantage of the days after Christmas to purchase items for themselves rather than extra presents, with a quarter saying they will make additional purchases on top of Christmas shopping and less than 10 per cent saying they would hold off buying actual gifts until the Boxing Day sales", he said.

The research showed online shopping was rising in popularity, with 45 per cent of respondents saying it was easier to get Boxing Day deals online than in the stores.