The Boxing Day sales have started not with a bang but with a whimper, according to keen shopper Michelle Barnard-Marks. And that suits her fine.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
For the second year running, she hit the department stores at 5am on Boxing Day. It's nowhere near as hectic as she remembered, or imagined.
As she made her way through Myer Melbourne with the first shoppers on Monday morning, she noticed there was a lack of shoving and rather a peaceful march of people with one common interest: finding bargains.
"There are no queues, no waiting to pay and good discounts," she said of shopping early on Boxing Day.
"I got here at 4.55am and I'll be home before 8am," she said.
Gone are the days of aggressive floods of shoppers peeling doors back and trampling over each other for discounted items. In the age of online shopping and pronounced discounting in the lead-up to Christmas the crowds appear less intense.
Friends Natsumi Tateishi and Yuki Iwabuchi arrived at Myer early to nab cheap cosmetics and perfume but stopped for a coffee and a chat first, confident they could take their time because there seemed to be plenty of stock.
In the Emporium, jewellery retailer Pandora had a long line snaking though a side corridor full of shoppers desperate to grab some brand pieces at up to 50 per cent off.
"I really want a ring," said Kaylene Chen, who waited an hour to get to the front of the queue. "My mum gave me money yesterday and that's what I want to get."
At David Jones the busiest floor appeared to be Women's fashion, with heavy discounting of some items of more than 60 per cent.
According to David Jones' regional CBD manager Volkan Ozturk, the best bargains of the day are in young women's fashion and men's shirts.
"Look at this Camilla and Marks skirt," he says. "It's down from $249 to $56."
Research commissioned by David Jones shows seven out of ten Victorians will "clearance shop" through January and if those shoppers looking for bargains, 20 per cent will visit shops on Boxing Day, compared to 13 per cent nationally.
The department stores were happy with early traffic on their busiest trading day. Both Myer and David Jones reported crowds of 500 people waiting outside at 5am.
"Each year it gets bigger and bigger," said Mr Ozturk.
"The numbers are good," agreed Myer's executive general manager Tony Sutton. He said more men and families were venturing out on Boxing Day.
According to Mr Sutton, the best bargains at Myer are men's suits which have 40 per cent off and in cookware which is also 40 per cent off.
For Barnard-Marks while there may have been many people at the entrance with her, inside the shops she felt she had space to move without other shoppers getting in her way.
As she loaded her $500 shop including new bedsheets, clothes, wine glasses and champagne flutes into the boot of her cat she smiled. "I'm on track to be home before 8am."
