A fire at a Westfield mall in West Auckland that sparked a mass evacuation has been extinguished, with the mall reopened to the public.

Stevia-sweetened fizzy drink Pepsi Next will hit our shelves next week, a month ahead of rival Coke Life - but will the new products do any good?

The New Zealand dollar is trading near a record high against the Australian currency but that doesn't necessarily mean bargains for shoppers, a consumer expert says.

ASX listed Scentre Group, with nine Westfield-branded malls in New Zealand, intends to sell four of its big centres here.

Energy Minister Simon Bridges says big petrol retailers are "on notice" after they maintained large profit margins while the price of oil was falling sharply late last year.

Hasbro, the maker of foam footballs and spongy projectiles, is targeting a new audience: high schoolers.

If you're like most shoppers, it is likely that you do plenty of research before opening your wallet.

ASX-listed Domino's Pizza Enterprises, parent company of Domino's New Zealand, has reported one of its strongest half-year results to date, with net profit of A$29.1 million, up 44.2 per cent on the same period last year.

Retail spending charged to electronic cards fell 0.4 per cent last month, its third monthly decline in a row, as lower prices at the pump offset increased spending elsewhere.

Creditors of women's clothing chain Shanton Fashion are owed almost $7.8 million, while the company has $3.35 million in assets, a wider shortfall than the $693,000 estimate directors gave when the company went into voluntary administration last month.

Over 70 per cent of elite college rugby players regularly use sports supplements, making them more likely to intentionally dope in the future, a survey finds.

The bad guys are always one step ahead. That was the reality with party pills and it is much the same with illicit fitness supplements.

New Zealand shares rose to a new record close yesterday as holidays in Auckland and Australia kept trading volumes light.

The Shanton chain of women's clothing stores has gone into voluntary administration just over two years after it was bought out of receivership.

Work started this week on the $36 million expansion of New Zealand's first shopping mall.

Spending last month was up $300 million on December 2013, fuelled in part by Christmas shopping, Boxing Day sales, and New Year's Eve holidaymakers.

Warehouse chief executive Mark Powell says it will be "a very difficult ask" for the group to beat last year's profits after it announced weaker-than-expected sales.

Warehouse shares have plunged today after it said profits for the first half of the financial year are likely to be down 20 per cent.

Mayor Len Brown has named big-brand international retailers Apple and Tiffany & Co as potential candidates to open their first New Zealand stores in Auckland.

For Kiwis scouring the shops for bargains today and the rest of sale season, don't rule out haggling your way to a discount.