Boxing Day - a time for serious shopping

ANDREW GORRIE

PATIENCE PAYS OFF: All Claire Lord needs now is some sun to make the most of her new half-price sunlounger.

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Shoppers took advantage of bargain post-Christmas prices to grab big-ticket items during the weekend and stockpile next year's gifts.

More than $100 million was spent in electronic transactions on Boxing Day, Paymark figures show. Chief executive Simon Tong said this was on a par with last year.

Roads were choked with traffic as customers flocked to Wellington's Lyall Bay retail park.

Lyall Bay resident Irene Beamish, 47, was planning for next Christmas and upcoming birthdays, buying presents for her three young children.

"It's a good idea to do it now. This is when you get all the good stuff and it saves you heaps."

Clothing shop crowds deterred Mrs Beamish from looking for bargains for herself, but she was pleased with savings of about 30 per cent on children's toys.

Strathmore Park resident Gareth Linwood, 36, made two trips to the retail park with his father, Graham.

They bought a barbecue at The Warehouse – which Mr Linwood had spotted before Christmas – reduced by $130 to $315 on Boxing Day.

His five-year-old daughter had also been promised a present from Santa, which she chose for herself in the weekend sales – a Tinkerbell doll.

For Miramar resident Claire Lord, 49, a sunlounger she had been waiting to buy in the Briscoes sale was reduced by 50 per cent to $100.

"I was sure it would be on sale after Christmas and I checked it online before coming out."

She was now waiting for better weather to enjoy her bargain.

Mr Tong said spending peaked on Boxing Day between midday and 1pm, when shoppers made 77 electronic transactions per second.

The sales trade did not compare with the pre-Christmas rush, with $226m spent electronically on Christmas Eve.

Shoppers had spent $3.68 billion in December so far, which Mr Tong said was up 4.3 per cent on this time last December.

Retailers Association spokesman Barry Hellberg said it appeared people were feeling more positive about the economy than this time last year.

Though there had been good bargains available before Christmas, retailers had come up with more discounts at the weekend. "It's a very good time to be a customer. There's still some very good bargains out there."

For those unhappy with their Christmas presents, TradeMe spokesman Paul Ford said many were being listed for "regifting".

Of the 10,000 new items listed on Christmas Day and the 15,000 on Boxing Day, 2000 people admitted they were trying to sell unwanted gifts. Many more of the listings were also likely to be unwanted presents.

Listing figures were higher than normal in Wellington yesterday, and Mr Ford said it was possible that bad weather meant more people stayed indoors and went online.

- © Fairfax NZ News