Boxing Day sales: Chaos gets underway early

Kiwis daring to brave the traditional Boxing Day sales are likely to find themselves caught up in the hordes of others keen to grab a bargain today.

The chaos got under way early this morning with big crowds queuing before the doors had opened.

Darrin McLay was at the Harvey Norman store at Wairau Park which opened at eight this morning.

"The line was more than 10 metres long and as wide as the street ... about 400 people were crammed inside the store minutes after it opened."

Record number of Eftpos transactions for Christmas Eve

Areas around some of Auckland's malls have started experiencing heavy traffic around St Lukes, Manukau and Sylvia Park.

The New Zealand Transport Agency has urged shoppers to take public transport to help reduce congestion on the roads.

"If you are heading to a mall today for #BoxingDay shopping, consider taking public transport to avoid traffic build up and parking issues," it tweeted.

Shoppers were given an early glimpse into the bargains on offer with banners up in many store windows on Christmas Eve.

Several specials were touted, from 70 per cent off clothes at Max and 50 per cent off batteries at Noel Leeming, to the mysterious "massive reductions" on offer at Kathmandu and Dick Smith's "knockout sale".

For those who would rather avoid the madness in store -- online shopping might be a safer option. Several retailers, including JB Hi-Fi and the Warehouse, launched the Boxing Day sales online.

So far, spending over the festive season has hit new highs. By 1pm on Christmas Eve, New Zealanders had spent more than $147 million, according to Paymark which processes 75 per cent of the country's electronic transactions.

Just after 1.20pm, shopping activity hit a new record of 157.46 transactions a second, up from 2014's top turnover of 156.13 transactions.