Holiday trading: Who can open and when?

Saturday, 24 December 2022

With just one more sleep until Christmas, supermarket and shopping centre car parks are packed, and you’d be forgiven for thinking the entire country was headed into another months-long lockdown.

But the reality is quite different. Although we’re headed into a nice long run of public holidays, most businesses are able to trade on the bulk of them.

Here’s who can open and when:

By law, almost all shops must close for three-and-a-half days a year – Christmas Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and until 1pm on ANZAC Day.

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That means businesses are free to trade as usual on Boxing Day, New Year’s Day and January 2, as well as the days they’re observed if they happen to fall on a weekend.

Exceptions to the three-and-a-half days rule include dairies, service stations, pharmacies and shops providing services rather than goods, like hairdressers and movie theatres (see below for a full list).

Keep in mind that even if a business can open on a public holiday, the owners may choose to close. If you want to visit a particular store, phone ahead or check online before heading out.

What about “Mondayised” (or “Tuesdayised”) holidays?

Good question, because there’s a bit of that going on this year. With Christmas and New Year’s days both falling on Sundays, they’ll be observed the following Tuesdays.

However, trading restrictions aren’t Monday- or Tuesdayised and shops don’t have to close twice. Restricted shop trading for Christmas Day occurs only on December 25.

As noted above, there are no trading restrictions on New Year’s Day, so businesses can open as normal on both January 1 and 3, when the holiday is observed.

What about the surcharge?

Surcharges are mostly used by the hospitality sector, and, as it stands, they can be applied on any day of the year.

However, it’s become common practice for traders to apply a surcharge only on public holidays to off-set the cost of paying staff higher wages on those days.

According to the Commerce Commission, if a surcharge is applied, shop owners need to inform the customers, verbally or by way of a clear, prominent sign, before the transaction starts.

Businesses allowed to open on restricted trading days

• Dairies (which can only sell food, drink, household items, and personal items)

• Service stations (which can only sell food, drink, household items, personal items, petrol, oil, car parts and accessories)

• Takeaway bars, restaurants, cafés (which can only sell prepared, or cooked, food ready to be eaten immediately in the form in which it is sold)

• Duty-free stores

• Shops providing services, not selling goods (such as movie theatres or hairdressers)

• Real estate agencies

• Pharmacies

• Garden centres (only Easter Sunday)

• Shops at public transport terminals or stations (can only sell books, magazines and newspapers, or duty-free items and souvenirs, or food that has been cooked or prepared and is ready to be eaten)

• Shops where an exhibition or show is taking place, including markets, craft shows and stalls (but the shop must be within the premises of the exhibition or show. This means the building or location; it doesn't include a street which has been closed for the event)

• Shops primarily selling only souvenirs (a souvenir is defined as being connected to a New Zealand place or New Zealand culture)