At the Harvey Norman Centre vehicles spilled off the asphalt onto the grass verges

It was a day that started with a trickle ­— no more than 50 people were at Myer in the morning for the 7am opening.

But by noon activity was in full swing with car park congestion to rival the big city centres.

Among those rushing to their vehicles with new purchases were Chez McIntyre and Emily Barber from Kiewa, who had Emily’s 15-year-old son Jacob in tow.

While Jacob had managed to net a new discounted fishing rod with his Christmas money, the teenager was very much regretting his decision to join the women.

After being dragged to numerous stores around town, including a lingerie store, he’d just about had enough.

“I wanted the fishing rods, I didn’t think it would be this boring,” he said.

After about 24 hours of respite on Christmas Day, the crowds at Myer Centrepoint in Albury were back with a vengeance.

Numbers appeared at least double the pre-Christmas rush, with clothing stores and cafes alike flooded with people.

At Myer, homewares, electrical and clothing were the hot items, with manager Alvar Poulton noting that among the shoppers were large numbers of visitors to the Border.

They included Burrumbuttock-born medical student Stephanie Wiltshire who returned home from Gosford for Christmas and hit the shops yesterday in search of saucepans and make-up.

Getting a car park was a challenge — her family decided to sneak into a parking spot at SS & A Albury.

And businesses aren’t expecting things to slow down any time soon.

Today is likely to bring more super sales spending, with some stores trading until 9pm.