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Not even a forgotten wallet was going to stop Te Aroha Thomson at the Boxing Day sales in Albany yesterday.
She was one of thousands across Auckland who braved full car parks, food courts and shops to sidestep other shoppers, all looking for bargains, late Christmas presents or treats. But early in the day Mrs Thomson was hoping to gain a crucial advantage.
The mum of seven left her Glenfield home in time to arrive at the newest Westfield shopping centre at 9am, but realised she'd forgotten her money as soon as she got there.
"It was only 15 minutes there and back but by that time all the parks had gone. "We just wanted to get here. No bath, no shower, we walked straight out the door.
"It's lucky we had shoes in the car."
With a big family, Mrs Thomson felt yesterday's sales were a godsend. Towels were on the must-buy list - they ended up with 22 for $220 from Kmart.
"Why not go for a bargain when you can?" said Mrs Thomson.
While many fled the city yesterday for a beachside break, thousands were intent on bagging bargains. It was a scene repeated at large malls throughout the country.
Retailers Association spokesman Barry Hellberg said it was "a good day for retail" and thanked the bad weather nationwide for driving people to the shops.
"Boxing Day sales have been a feature for many years and that traditional trend has continued."
Mr Hellberg said giving vouchers as gifts was also increasing the number of people shopping on Boxing Day.
"The shopping malls must have had a bloody good day."
By mid-morning there was a queue of traffic at Albany and it was a frantic hunt for a parking space.
While the tide of shoppers flowed around, the fuss was all too much for Mrs Thomson's 1-year-old grandson, Ngarimu Honaremu, who was fast asleep.
He wasn't the only uninterested male. Some loitered quietly while hanging on to bags, others dozed on couches, and more still waited outside busy shops.
Richard Vos said he was not going anywhere near a packed Glassons, instead opting to wait on couches for his wife and 14-year-old daughter.
He didn't mind hanging out at the shopping mall while more money was spent in the post-Christmas frenzy.
"That's women for you, isn't it?
"I've got to keep them happy - I'm just not going in there."
Everything, from shoes to plasma televisions, was up for grabs at reduced prices.
In a blast from the past, The Warehouse was selling VHS movies at 50 per cent off - the public's last chance to buy the old technology from the Red Shed in the days of DVDs.
In a cheeky little window sign, Bendon Lingerie advertised its naughty or nice sale - apparently "naughty girls get their presents now".
That's a sentiment shopper Lilli White, 26, agreed with.
"Boxing Day is the day you buy presents for yourself. Although really bad girls do both and shop for themselves before Christmas and after."
But some found they had made a mistake as soon as they wandered into the busy mall. One grandmother visiting from Waikato was hoping to get out as soon as she could. Anne Green, 67, was just looking for a toothbrush and waiting for her granddaughter, who was spending Christmas money.
She couldn't wait to leave.
After fears of a shopping slump, figures from Paymark revealed Kiwis had already spent $1 billion in the run up to December 24. Spending was up 4 per cent on the same period last year.
Shoppers in Auckland and Northland accounted for nearly half of that, pumping $457 million into gifts.
Eftpos figures are due out today for what is traditionally the biggest spend-up of the year.
Cameron Brewer of the Newmarket Business Association said it was a good day for retailers in the suburb. He said a trend had started where consumers were giving family presents on Boxing Day after they had taken advantage of sales.
"And they'll buy Christmas decorations on Boxing Day, 364 days out from the next Christmas."
Mr Brewer said the Retailers Association was expecting a 5 per cent increase on sales throughout the country during December and if Newmarket sales were anything to go by the prediction would be come true.
