Mums boost shops

Figures released on Friday may have shown a record 2.9 per cent fall in retail sales in the first three months of this year, but some shop owners say business is booming.

Retailers Association chief executive John Albertson said some stores were overwhelmed by a pre-Mother's Day rush, with jewellers, restaurants and supermarkets doing particularly well.

And Paymark processed more than $3 billion worth of electronic transactions in March, up 1.5 per cent on the same month last year.

"It's hard to say how retailers are doing in general because each individual retailer is reporting very different things," said Albertson.

"I think we were all holding our breath for the recession and hunkered down for a tough time, but so far it hasn't been that bad."

He expects clothing retailers to see a spike during winter, and electronics and furniture - which consumers have been avoiding - to make a comeback as stores continue to offer bargains.

"We're very good at looking for bargains and I think we'll start seeing that with big ticket items soon."

Chris Gudgeon, chief executive of Kiwi Income Properties which owns Auckland's Sylvia Park, said the megamall was thriving, with new stores opening and a full carpark most days of the week.

"In the lead-up to Mother's Day all 4000 of our carparks were filled and we had about 60,000 visitors each day last weekend."

Westfield national PR co-ordinator Deb McGhie said the company had noticed a spike in people returning to shops this year, especially over Mother's Day weekend.

Albertson also reported a decline in credit card transactions, with people buying on eftpos instead. "It means people are managing their funds better. I think as more people become confident with job security and realising their situation may not be as bad as they thought, we'll soon return to some form of normality."