The New Zealand Herald reported yesterday that the management of New Zealand’s biggest shopping mall — Auckland’s 71,000sq m Sylvia Park — had predicted that yesterday would be its biggest shopping day before Christmas.
That mall’s management said that shopping in the first and last couple of hours of the trading day was the best way to beat the crowds.
Otago Chamber of Commerce chief executive Dougal McGowan said Dunedin retailing was still "tough", but figures derived from Infometrics had suggested a rise of more than 3% in average retail turnover in the city.
His wife Sonya had made an early trip to the city yesterday morning and had reported busy shopping before 9.30am, on the last Sunday before Christmas.
Despite the challenges posed by overseas internet trading, Dunedin’s shopping areas were still seen as attractive by customers and was "still on a lot of people’s radars", he said.
People clearly still enjoyed the appeal of going into a shop and buying in person, and the key for retailers remained to provide consistently fine service and to encourage people to become repeat customers, he said.
Dunedin still attracted out-of-town domestic visitors, including from Central Otago, as well as cruise ship passengers and others from abroad.
Asked if he had any survival tips to avoid pre-Christmas shopping stress, he said "take your time", allowing time to undertake activities without rushing.
"Take a breath," he added.
