Shopper frenzy erupts as Panda Mart opens its third Australian store in Brisbane

Chaotic scenes have erupted inside a new discount store in Brisbane, where shoppers ripped items from shelves and left them strewn across the floor.

Panda Mart’s third location in Australia and its first outside of Victoria was opened on the site of a former Bunnings.

Bargain hunters queued early to get inside the retailer, which had a soft opening on the weekend before its grand opening on Monday,

The huge turnout follows hype from social media influencers, who shared sneak peeks of the huge range, which includes more than 30,000 products at bargain prices across categories including toys, homewares and travel.

Videos posted to TikTok from the opening showed a long line to get into the store, winding along the outside of the building and into the carpark.

“Panda Mart is officially open in Brisbane, and the crowds are unbelievable! The waiting line stretches outside as shoppers rush to check out the newest discount store. If you’re planning to visit, be prepared for a long wait,” commented shopper and TikToker @glowandroam1.

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Another customer, Francesa Angeles, explained in a TikTok video that she had been planning to go to the new Panda Mart store but was turned off by the chaos in the carpark.

“The traffic, guys… we went in and we did a U-ey to come out because it would have been hours before we found a car spot… I was not sitting in the car for like two hours, so I might give it about a week,” she said.

However, some customers said the line to get in moved quickly with some waiting just 10 minutes, while others waited about 35 minutes to get inside.

In addition to the huge crowds, there were also shocking scenes inside with products left strewn all over aisle floors.

“The state of panda mart was diabolical,” a woman named Fifi said in a video showing messy floors in the rugs section.

“The whole store was trashed,” she added in the comments.

Meanwhile, home decor fan Claire said while the store was overwhelming, there were some “really good bargains and the prices were incredible”.

Panda Mart was founded in South Africa in 2010 and has been described as “Temu in real life”.

The opening of the Rocklea store follows openings in Cranbourne and Preston in Victoria, which also attracted huge crowds.

Nine.com.au has reached out to Panda Mart for comment.