They came, they saw, and they shopped their socks off at the Boxing Day sales at Stockland Shellharbour yesterday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Only a trickle of eager spenders turned out for the early morning start, in stark contrast to the bulging queues seen in Sydney's shopping precincts.
But, by about 10am, a flood of people began pouring through the doors, each keen to snap up a bargain.
Clothes and electronic goods were among shoppers' top picks.
By midday JB Hi-Fi was bursting with customers, some spilling out on to seats near the entrance to catch their breath.
Jake Barnes, of Wollongong, took a break from the crowds before heading back in for another round.
"We went in before and it was chockers," he said.
Warilla mum Kaylie McCormack went in search of a cheap camera, and had also stopped off at Kmart and Target to grab a few items for 18-month-old daughter Ella.
"We got here really early, we got a good car park then about 9am or 10am a million people arrived. The place was bombarded," she said.
Popular retailer Parliament Clothing was also swamped by a stampede of young shoppers yesterday.
"I feel a little bit like I'm in the middle of a dance party. It's been like this since 9.30am," store manager Caitlin Douglas said.
"We were expecting it to be a busy day but I'm actually surprised at just how much it's taken off."
Customer Jarryd Rook of Warilla was in the store hunting for some cheap clothes, not forgetting to rack up some brownie points by shopping for his girlfriend too.
Twins Michalie and Kobie Klein, 18, of Flinders were on a mission to spend money and vouchers they received for Christmas.
"We're looking for clothes for New Year's Eve," Michalie said.
Hairhouse Warehouse owner Lube Markovski said dodgy weather had helped the sales.
"It definitely feels a lot busier than last year," he said.
"It's actually really quite nice, the stress of Christmas Day is over and people are just enjoying wandering around and picking up a few good buys."
GHD hair straighteners were walking off the shelves, he said.
Shopping centres across the rest of the region, including Wollongong Central, will open their doors to today for post-Christmas sales.