“Pretty manageable”: Boxing Day crowds fall short amid Geelong’s Covid-19 outbreak

Retailers have reported smaller crowds this year despite hundreds of shoppers flocking to Geelong’s CBD for the annual Boxing Day sales.

Hundreds of undeterred shoppers took to Geelong’s CBD in hopes of securing bargains at this years’ Boxing Day sales.

While crowds were constant throughout the day, many said they fell short of previous years.

John Katos from Launch Espresso and Kitchen said the usual morning rush was missing this year.

“It has always been the busiest day of the year but I wasn’t sure what to expect coming off the year we had,” he said.

“Normally we have people lining up in the morning before the shops open but people gradually came and built it up to what it was, so it was pretty manageable.

Boxing Day Sales Malop St Geelong.

“People have shopped online a lot and there has been a lot of sales throughout the year as well, so it is not quite what is used to be, but we still didn’t stop all day.”

A young Geelong woman said she was undeterred by the current Omicron outbreak as she embarked on a day of shopping.

“I just came in because I had to get something in store rather than online,” Ebony said.

She said the crowds took her by surprise with some of the larger retail stores appearing less busy than what she had anticipated.

“A few of the smaller stores seemed to more packed then compared to the bigger stores,” she said.

Boxing Day Sales Malop St Geelong.

With hundreds of shoppers flocking to both Westfield and Market Square, people were encouraged to socially distance and practise good hygiene with readily available hand sanitiser as well as QR check-ins at each centre and individual retail stores.

Seed Heritage employee Mariah Gogas said this year’s sales were not as “consistent” as the previous year, citing the current Covid-19 outbreak along with the growing popularity of online shopping.

“Some people I spoke to said they came in for specific things and then were out. No one really wanted to hang around,” she said.

Boxing Day Sales Malop St Geelong.

“I just found a lot of people are online, because it seems to have more sales and variety then what in-store does.”

Westfield Stylist Emelia Morris had previously tipped retailers would be increasing their discounts to compete with the Black Friday sales, with many Geelong stores offering up to 60 per cent off, including Bed Bath N’ Table, Myer, Glue and Connor.

Some retailers will continue their end of year sales with a list of offers available at https://www.westfield.com.au/geelong/whats-happening

Originally published as “Pretty manageable”: Boxing Day crowds fall short amid Geelong’s Covid-19 outbreak