Some of the city’s bigger retailers opened their doors on Wednesday, with crowds lining up to get the best bargains.

Smaller retailers waited until Thursday to open their doors, but weren’t disappointed with the turn out of customers.

Mel Kelly, owner of Bake Table & Tea in George Street said the store had been flat out since opening their doors Thursday morning.

Mrs Kelly said the store opened at 8am and trade had been brisk. 

She said she expected it to be busy, but even she was surprised how many people had been in by mid morning.

“A lot of people had asked if we would be open,” she said.

“So I was expecting it to be busy.

“Our sale is the same as last year, but it’s far busier this year,” she said.

She put the increase in trade to her loyal customer base and a push  by the Bathurst Business Chamber for people to shop locally.

“That push to buy local has made an enormous difference,” she said.

For Regency Jewellers, the company’s annual Boxing Day sale also brought customers through the door.

Acting manager, Jodi Culnane said it had been an enormous week for the business in the lead up to Christmas, and the Boxing Day sale was shaping up to be just as popular.

“Our Christmas trade surpassed all expectations,” she said, adding jewellery by Pandora and Swarovski were among the most popular choices.

“Today [Thursday] has already been busy, people are bringing in their gift vouchers they got for Christmas to spend.

“It’s been a great day,” she added.

The latest research revealed 10 million people will shop the Boxing Day sales this year — and will drop a staggering $3.2 billion dollars on the day.

The National Retail Association said it would be the biggest single spending day of a Christmas season that already had retailers raking in a record-breaking $50 billion in sales since mid-November. 

A jaw-dropping $821 million NSW was expected to be spent in the Boxing Day sales.