Big takeaway chains open for businesses - but no cash accepted at some
McDonald's says exactly when its restaurants in Auckland will open will depend on how quickly each can get everything back up and running. Some are expected to have food ready to go not long after midnight, but others will not open until around the crack of dawn between 5am and 7am tomorrow. "Around 50 Auckland restaurants will be working to open through the night and before 7am, and will initially operate with a restricted menu," a spokesman told. Staff had been working hard to prepare for the alert level 3 drop in Auckland - right from when doors had to shut at alert level 4. Anyone who has been hanging out for a Big Mac or chicken nuggets for the last five weeks can also order via delivery services. But those brave enough to try the local drive-thru, however, are asked to remember to wear a mask before turning up. Part of their preparations have been around traffic management, the spokesman said, acknowledging the high levels of traffic congestion seen in and around takeaway stores after a level 4 lockdown. "Based on previous experience, we typically see an initial rush from excited and eager customers and things then calm down within a few days," the spokesman said. If you are heading to the likes of KFC, Pizza Hut, Carl's Jnr and Taco Bell, do not forget your Eftpos card.
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The restaurants will not be accepting cash under alert level 3.
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Delivery services are available for people ordering from Pizza Hutt and contactless click and collect service is also being organised for Pizza Hutt restaurants. KFC will be offering a slightly reduced menu, a spokesman for Restaurant Brands said. "Burgers will be phased in over the next couple of days. This is simply due to product delivery times," he said. Domino's Pizza is celebrating Auckland's move to level 3 by offering customers a free lava cake with every $20 plus delivery order tomorrow. The company's general manager, Cameron Toomey, said they wanted to celebrate and recognise the effort Aucklanders had made the last few weeks to help control the spread of Covid-19. "I think the whole country has acknowledged that Auckland has been taking one for the team - having been in lockdown for an extended period of time. "So we wanted to say thank you to everyone who has done the right thing and stayed home." Meanwhile, many people have taken to social media to express their excitement about their favourite takeaways opening up again. Some have said they will be heading out late tonight to get in the drive-thru queue while others have joked they will be parking their car there overnight.
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Christmas Eve busiest shopping day of the year with more than 500,000 sales
Busiest shopping day of the year
Peak time 12 noon-1 pm - 563,303 transactions
Per second peak - 167 transactions
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Number of sales beats Black Friday, but lowest Christmas Eve in six years
Christmas Eve has been the busiest shopping day of the year with 9,745 sales a minute at its peak.
Payments company Worldline says noon to 1pm saw 563,303 sales recorded on its network, down by about 7 percent on a year ago.
The company's network covers about three-quarters of the electronic terminals in operation.
Worldline did not have a dollar value for spending, but the peak number of transactions was the lowest for the past six years and well shy of the record 679,436 in 2019, before the pandemic.
Earlier this month it noted rising sales in the first three weeks of the month, but they remained 1.3 percent lower than 2024, with most parts of the country trailing the previous year's spending.
Official data from Stats NZ to the end of November showed a small rise in spending on the previous month, to 1.6 percent higher for the year.
Retail spending has been subdued as households have remained cautious because of high prices and a slow benefit from lower interest rates, and as well as concerns about the soft labour market.
However, recent surveys have shown improving consumer sentiment with ANZ bank's monthly report showing confidence at its highest level in four years.
Boxing Day is traditionally the country's favourite shopping day, but with Black Friday spending also softer this year the amount going through retailers' terminals may also be down on a year ago.
Adding a dampener to consumer spending may be the recent rises in longer term fixed mortgage rates because of higher wholesale rates.
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