Another two new pop-up stores are appearing in Oamaru this week , international visitor spending is up by 33% and the number of empty Oamaru shops is down on this time last year.
Waitaki District Council business attraction and recovery manager Mel Jones said the 16 empty shops in the Oamaru CBD as of August 2023 had decreased to five now.
The latest additions to Oamaru retail were Brocante, an upholstery pop-up on Thames St, and Colour Me Creative, an art collective from Palmerston, also on Thames St.
Business South Waitaki navigator Rebecca Finlay said the Oamaru retail trend was being mirrored in other new businesses popping up across the district, reflecting a trend for innovation and diversification that set Waitaki businesses apart from the more gloomy national trend.
"You sense it walking down Thames St listening to a range of mingling languages, and the numbers endorse it," she said anecdotally.
"According to recent market view data international spend in Waitaki is up over 33% since this month last year."
It appeared that Oamaru and other smaller Waitaki townships were also faring better than centres like Auckland and Wellington, where high street retail was "gradually eroding’.
Mrs Jones said the upturn on Oamaru’s main street had been really noticeable.
In the past few months this has included:
- Alex Campbell Menswear pop-up becoming permanent in the old Noel Leeming building.
- The Don Barbers moving to the CBD.
- The Vault expanding and moving into Thames St.
- Stitch on Tyne and Enhance merging as Stitchcraft Corner on Thames St.
- The four Revitalise Our Places Oamaru pop-up shops.
- The Housekeepers Pantry, on Harbour St.
Housekeepers Pantry chef Chloe Kyles said the idea for a "foodie haven" had been in the pipeline for a while, using a former storage space in Harbour St.
Mrs Finlay said marketview data also showed increased spending on takeaways, groceries and liquor.
"It’s really interesting, we’re seeing lots of businesses pivoting their offering," she said.
It was particularly fascinating Housekeepers Design had "pivoted" towards the takeaway market, which was "really clever" and indicated "how innovative" businesses in Waitaki could be.
This was an example of rethinking "dead space" in the same way the pop-up retail trend had burgeoned in Oamaru by utilising empty retail space.
That had to be good for the district, Mrs Finlay said.
"As a district, we should be really proud that we’re still kind of trying different things".
Businesses such as Riverstone Kitchen and Kurow’s Whistle & Pop also deserved praise for their innovation.
In the latter case, that online business was now launching a physical store in Kurow on August 26.
"Again, clever, innovative Waitaki businesses just thinking out of the box."
The Revitalise Our Places Oamaru programme via the district council had also provided an opportunity to "test the waters".
This had enabled some operators to get "businesses off the ground".
A good example was Alex Campbell Menswear proprietor Lindsay Campbell testing the Oamaru market after arriving in June and becoming permanent.
"To do that through a pop-up is cool," Mrs Finlay said.
Mr Campbell, who has run about 20 pop-up stores around the country in the last 15 years, said the community had been "extremely welcoming".
