Mrs Fox, of Launceston, said she had come into town to see what the sales were like and to swap some shirts she received for Christmas.

``The swapping of two T-shirts really brought me undone. I've bought pillows, linen, a rice cooker - and I haven't even been to Myer yet,'' Mrs Fox said.

``Normally we're away at our shack, so this is my first time this year and I wanted to see what it was like . . . but I got a bit taken in by the sales.

``I'm in trouble with my husband, there's no doubt.''

Vashti Boutique owner and manager Jacqui Grubb said her small shop had welcomed what felt like ``a million people'' in her first two hours of business yesterday.

``As soon as we opened the doors the store was packed and it's been packed ever since.

``This year's definitely a lot busier than the last - we've seen 50 times more people today and over the Christmas period,'' Ms Grubb said.

Red Herring sales assistant Brendon Hill said yesterday's business capped off a successful Christmas period for the surf and skate store.

``We actually started our 50 per cent sale on Christmas, which has got a big response,'' Mr Hill said.

``We've been killing it most days. It's been a very busy Christmas and today started off a little chill but now everyone's out of bed and it's really busy . . . a lot of kids are coming in to spend their Christmas money.''