Christmas spending continues to rise in December

New Zealanders spent a record $6 billion shopping in December. Photo / Thinkstock

New Zealanders are spending up more this Christmas compared with last year, as shopping ramps up in the first week of December.

A total of $1.29 billion was spent to December 7, up 5.4 per cent on the same week last year.

The biggest growth change was in the Bay of Plenty, where spending was up 9.1 per cent on 2015. Shoppers in the region spent $84.8 million in the week.

Strong growth was also seen in the Hawke's Bay and Palmerston North region, in contrast with the Marlborough, Kaikoura and the South Canterbury regions, which appeared to be still suffering from the earthquake with growth of just 0.4 per cent.

"The results so far this month point to solid growth in the early stages of the busy pre-Christmas spending period," Paymark said.

"It is also about this time of year that many end of year celebrations occur," it said.

The highest total spend was in Auckland, Northland with $533.8 million spent over the week.

Total hospitality spend was up on the previous year, boosted significantly by spending in restaurants and cafes, with spending at bars and clubs similar to 2015.

"As is usually the case, the level of spending through hospitality merchants was higher in the first 7 days compared to the previous 7 days, and is expected to increase again in the following 2 weeks," the company said.

"However the annual underlying growth rate did also accelerate to 12.4 per cent in the first 7 days, implying a busier than usual start to the celebrations this month."