BOXING Day sales started slowly today with Tweed City shopping centre stores reporting steady but relatively sluggish sales at the start of the trading day.

The madness shoppers faced in the centre's carpark when they arrived at Christmas Eve was replaced by a trickle of vehicles making their way slowly to a multitude of empty spaces.

W-Lane clothing store manager Sue Eagle said the store had only just started trading at 9.30 am, however, sales had not been too bad so far.

"People don't really shop for clothing today and although we've got sales of up to 50% and it's still early days, we don't expect a stampede like some of the bigger department stores experience.

"I expect to see a lot of returns and changes come in today," Ms Eagle said.

HomeMart store manager Nathalie Gallot said the centre looked pretty busy and because of the wet weather people would hopefully decide to do some shopping.

"We've done very well in the lead up to Christmas but of course are always looking to improve our sales," Ms Gallot said.

A Kmart spokeswoman said the store had been busy since it opened its doors at 8.00 am.

"We're doing steady business at the moment and expect to be busy throughout the day," the spokeswoman said.

An All Phones spokesman said the store didn't join in the sales extravaganza and offered the same service and products at the same prices throughout the year.

"It was absolute madness before Christmas but we don't expect to be overly busy today," the spokesman said.