Some stores are starting their Boxing Day sales early as they try to make up for a slow Christmas shopping season.

Tighter budgets mean lighter stockings this Christmas as consumers get more selective with their holiday shopping.

Shoppers are buying fewer presents and saving their cash for food and other daily essentials.

Some stores were already getting desperate, says Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young.

"There are definitely a number of stores that have got their boxing day sales up already, you'll see big signs with 40 percent or 50 percent off," she says.

"They're trying to entice people into the stores with big sale figures out now."

Business owners who relied on the Christmas rush to stay afloat are worried, says Carolyn.

"It's going to mean that more and more pressure comes on businesses around how they survive through next year," she says.

"A number of small businesses have spoken to us about [how] their ability to trade next year will be dependent on how good their sales are in the Christmas period and Boxing Day."

She says retailers hoped the cost of living crisis could be brought under control next year.

It had been a slow summer for stores around the country, says Carolyn.

"Normally you see a build day on day, week on week ... we're not seeing that build that we've seen in the past," she says.

"There's still some quiet days, you might have one or two quiet days and then it'll be really busy, and then it'll be quiet again."

Shoppers explain why.

"People are watching their dollars," one shopper in central Christchurch says.

"We cut it back to only doing Secret Santa, it gets a bit silly buying for everybody," says a second.

Others say they were spending less time in stores and more time online.

"I did most of my Christmas shopping online because it was easier to find things cheaper," a Wellington shopper says.

"There's been some pretty good deals online, in store not so much," says another.

Online retailer Mighty Ape says it had more customers this year than ever before.

"There's more uptake, last week [we had] a 20 percent increase compared to 2022," says chief executive Gracie Mackinlay.

But they were spending less.

"The average order value decreased slightly, the average basket size has decreased," she says.

Some sectors were hurting more than others.

EFTPOS network operator Worldline says consumers were favouring daily needs and recreation over Christmas gifts and other luxuries.

"We've seen food and liquor be significantly higher, about 7 percent up ... and recreational goods are up which is positive given they've been down for the past quarter or so," says chief sales officer Bruce Proffit.

"But surprisingly clothing and footwear, where there's a lot of gifts going into Christmas, is down almost 9 percent so that was a bit of a shock."

The allure of Christmas shopping wasn't quite as strong as it used to be, he says.

"It's still the most important time of year for retailers in terms of spend, but we are seeing things like Black Friday and November start to impact the amount of spend in December," he says.

Shoppers would see bigger discounts as retailers worked to attract customers, says Massey University professor of marketing Bodo Lang.

"When cost of living is high and retail sales are down, what retailers typically do is they respond by using sales promotion tactics," he says.

"Just to get more people into the shop in the first place."

- Felix Walton/ RNZ