It's the shopping that counts on Boxing Day

It's said to be the thought that counts, but today shoppers throughout New Zealand are thinking about swapping gifts for something they really want, or blitzing the Boxing Day sales.

Retailers are bracing for the annual onslaught provoked by slashed prices and buyers armed with Christmas cash and gift vouchers.

And while tens of thousands of bargain-hunting Kiwis prepare for the sales, many have already discarded gifts just hours after they were unwrapped.

Christmas lunch had yet to settle when hundreds of members of auction site Trade Me listed items – such as earrings, DVDs, digital photo frames, cellphones and cosmetics. A "true Christmas mixup" left one person with an unwanted computer.

The expected spending deluge comes after shoppers thrashed bankcards, forking out a record amount on Christmas Eve.

Kiwis spent more than ever in a last-chance consumer dash, figures from eftpos provider Paymark show.

On Christmas Eve, shoppers spent $226 million in electronic transactions, $10m more than last year.

Shoppers and retailers made 4.2 million transactions for the day, with a peak of 131 transactions a second between noon and 1pm, breaking all previous records.

The spare cash generated by the sale of unwanted goods could be good news to retailers who have admitted sales destined for Boxing Day began earlier to stimulate a surge in spending to buck falling sales figures.

But Paymark chief executive Simon Tong was wary of making any sweeping statements from the record transactions. "I was asked the other day, `Is this the end of the recession?' You can't really pick that out of one month.

"It might be that people have just had a gutsful of all the depressing talk over winter and decided the sun was out and it was time for Christmas. You just can't tell.

"The only other thing I can put it down to is a further move away from cash and cheques and more using the eftpos system."

GIVING BACK

* There is no legal requirement for shops to exchange or refund gifts if you don't like them or they are the wrong size.

* Faulty or damaged items must be refunded, replaced, or repaired under the Consumer Guarantees Act.

* If the sender has given you an exchange card, swap the goods promptly as it may be valid only for a short time.

* No exchange card? If the gift is in its original wrapping, take it back and ask whether you can exchange it.

- Source: Consumer Affairs Ministry