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Congestion is building on Auckland’s motorway network as bargain hunters flock to malls and shopping precincts for Boxing Day sales.

Shortly after midday, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi issued a travel alert warning of intensifying traffic delays, particularly on roads adjacent to Sylvia Park.

“Traffic is building around major shopping areas on the network, especially on SH1 near the Mt Wellington Hwy off-ramps,” the statement said.

Online wayfinding searches say congestion on SH1 is currently causing delays of approximately 12 minutes, and a driver in the area told the Herald the section of motorway in the vicinity of the off-ramp at Mt Wellington is “very congested both from the north and south”.

NZTA also reported clogged roads on State Highways 20A and 20B near the airport.

A post on social media this morning warned people heading to Auckland Airport for flights to “be aware the Manawa Bay Boxing Day shoppers are adding an obscene amount of traffic to the journey”.

NZTA advises motorists to “plan ahead and allow extra time for congestion in those areas”.

One person at Westfield’s Newmarket Shopping Centre told the Herald that carparks in the mall were in hot demand, but there were “no jams going out”.

In 2023, shoppers were left trapped in their cars at Westfield Newmarket for hours and one woman was forced to wet herself as the queue to exit the Auckland shopping centre’s carpark ground to a halt.

The Auckland region is under a six-hour severe storm watch from 2pm today, which brings a moderate risk of severe thunderstorms and downpours bringing hourly rainfall amounts of 25 to 40 mm.

The weather service says during this period, driving conditions will also be hazardous, “with surface flooding and poor visibility in heavy rain”.

The Boxing Day shopping rush follows Christmas Eve retaining its title as the busiest shopping day of the year, though the peak hour was well down on previous years.

Payments network Worldline NZ recorded 563,303 transactions between noon and 1pm today. That was lower than the 607,299 transactions recorded in the same hour on Christmas Eve last year.

The number of transactions in the peak hour has fallen in recent years as consumers have faced pressure from the high cost of living and rising unemployment. In 2020, some 678,812 transactions were made between noon and 1pm on Christmas Eve.