Paul McCarth from Auckland in Napier CBD for the Art Deco Festival. Retail shops that stayed open through the evening over the weekend were in short supply. Photo / Connull Lang
Paul McCarth from Auckland in Napier CBD for the Art Deco Festival. Retail shops that stayed open through the evening over the weekend were in short supply. Photo / Connull Lang
Napier and Hastings CBDs become “ghost towns” after 5pm and more shops and attractions should open later to make the most of summer visitors and daylight hours, a business leader says.
However, a shop owner who has tried late-night shopping says it was only worth it if multiple shops stayedopen.
Another shop owner believes there is enough demand to justify longer operating hours in Napier, as tourists frequently take an evening stroll through the CBD and make a purchase.
Napier City Business general manager Pip Thompson said she wanted to spark a conversation on how to do things better, as most Napier and Hastings CBD shops closed by 5pm.
She said “to stay alive in 2025” trading hours could “no longer be confined to 9am to 5pm”.
She said the same went for many tourist attractions - such as Par2 mini golf, Splash Planet and the National Aquarium - which all shut about 5pm in summer.
She said “a modest extension” of a couple of hours over summer should be considered by more businesses and attractions.
Pip Thompson on Napier's Emerson St. Photo / Gary Hamilton-Irvine
Thompson said it did not have to be every day - businesses could start by opening late on a Friday.
She said even during Art Deco Festival - Napier’s biggest event of the year - she could “count on one hand” the number of retail shops which stayed open after 5pm.
Thompson said restaurants did exceptionally well during the festival, but shops and some tourist attractions had room to improve.
“If businesses continue to operate with a status quo mindset, they may struggle to survive in the next 25 years.”
She said she was not suggesting people work 12-hour shifts, but open up the workforce to more teenagers and tertiary students (who can work after school/study) and even mums and dads available for later shifts once their partner returned home.
Adore Collection co-owner Sally Holyer, who operates two shops in Napier CBD with her husband, said they extend opening hours to suit cruise visits and summer tourists.
“If the first shuttle [from a cruise ship] arrives at 7.30am then we open at 7.30am, and if the last shuttle is at 8pm then we will stay until 8pm.”
She said normal operating hours were 9am-5pm, but “in summer we are here probably until 6pm most nights” and even later during Art Deco Festival.
She said summer visitors coming into the city often book into their accommodation then go for an evening stroll, and “I can often do a really good last hour’s trade”.
Holyer said other Napier businesses had room for improvement when it came to flexible opening hours.
“We are a tourist destination but we don’t act like a tourist town because we are not open.”
Giftware and Engravers, in Napier, owner Andrew Glenny said he had tried late-night hours in the past - such as 8pm on a Friday in collaboration with other shops.
However, he found unless it was promoted and lots of shops were doing it then it was “not worth it”.
“If people don’t know how many shops are going to open, then they are going to be hesitant to open [later],” he said.
“But if you know there are 50 shops doing it, then more people will do it.”
He said a live spreadsheet among shop owners would be helpful, with opening hours for special nights.
For cruise visits, he said he did open early or close late.
Hastings District Council owns Splash Planet which closes at 5.30pm over the summer (and is closing early this season).
“Longer opening hours has been looked at before but the analysis showed that the costs would likely outweigh the additional revenue generated,” a council spokeswoman said.
That could be reconsidered in the future, she said.
Meanwhile, Napier City Council owns the likes of Par2 mini golf and the National Aquarium, which close at 4.15pm and 5pm respectively.
“Extending opening hours is something that needs to be balanced with the increased cost to council to do so. Both facilities are currently under review as part of a ‘reimagining process’,” a council spokeswoman said.
Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke’s Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at News Corp Australia.
