pending across both hospitality and general retail after 1600. DowntownQT GM, Steve Wilde, says the snapshot is fascinating. “It’s the first time we’ve seen the actual numbers and can move away from anecdotal evidence into hard facts,” he says. “It backs up our proposal that retail stores should seriously consider opening later in the town centre.” The data analyses the electronic spending of both locals and visitors, revealing that the 12.6 per cent increase equates to over $14 million of the almost $90 million spent across both hospitality and retail in the Queenstown town centre after 1600 during the past year. The increase in shopping and dining after 1600 in the last 12 months illustrates a shift in customer shopping behaviour. Consumers want to effectively shop for general retail later in the day and pair this with dinner and drinks, says Wilde. Apart from the increase in combined shopping and dining, general retail has enjoyed an 11.3 per cent increase in spending all on its own, which topped $31.5 million during the year. Those seeking only hospitality after 1600 in the afternoon have pushed spending in the bars and restaurants up by 9.3 per cent to 43.9 million across the year. “We need to meet that desire and send a message that Queenstown is open for business late into the evening. It’s a worldwide trend, particularly in international resorts and we need to match that here,” says Wilde. The DowntownQT board chairperson, Alastair Wood, says the organisation intends to commission further data from Marketview. “We can deliver our members a very sophisticated analysis of who, what and how people are spending their money in the town centre. Nobody else is doing this in Queenstown,” he says. When DowntownQT looked into the likelihood of combined shopping, dependent on what store type the customer purchased from, those that purchased from general retail were more likely to also shop within the hospitality industry. “They’re coming into town, and then staying on to eat and drink,” he says. The level of combined shopping after 1600 between general retail and hospitality varies slightly between customer types. Visitors from other parts of New Zealand are most likely to purchase from both retail and hospitality on the same evening. “This suggests these customers have ingrained shopping habits of purchasing after work and are happy to spend up while in Queenstown on holiday,” says Wilde. International customers spend equally at both hospitality and retail stores after 1600, whereas the rest of NZ visitors and Queenstown locals spend a larger proportion of their spend on hospitality after 1600. With all customer bases doing at least 14 per cent of  combined shopping after 1600, it appears that all visitors to downtown Queenstown are willing to buy at retail and hospitality providers given the right offering. The DowntownQT campaign to encourage retail stores to open until at least 2100 seven days a week across the summer is now under way. DowntownQT wants as many retail stores as possible to open until 2100 from December 1. “We’re possibly heading into our biggest summer on record, with more people than ever before coming to Queenstown. It just makes sense to open your doors on those long warm daylight evenings, and give our visitors what they want,” points out Wilde. DowntownQT’s vision for the Queenstown town centre is a world-class shopping and dining destination, and a premier address for corporate business.