KEY POINTS:
Kiwis whipped up a shopping frenzy last month, spending more than $4 billion - just over $277 million more than the previous December.
Paymark, which processes 75 per cent of all electronic transactions, said yesterday that 70 million electronic transactions passed through its network last month, valued at $4.05 billion.
Paymark chief executive officer Simon Tong said last month's figures were in line with retailers' expectations, with steady growth in nearly all regions. "An 8 per cent overall increase in transaction volume year-on-year is healthy, but slightly down on the previous year's growth of 9.5 per cent."
Nelson showed the highest increase in transaction volume, while the smallest increase was in Gisborne, due to the earthquake on December 20.
Retailers in Gisborne felt the financial sting post-earthquake when many main street stores were closed for a day or two in the lead-up to Christmas.
Retailers Association chief executive John Albertson said yesterday that December had been a tough month for retailers.
"There's certainly been positive growth but I think it's been very, very competitive.
"You only have to look at the price of some of the stuff that was on offer before and after Christmas. Chains were offering items significantly discounted to pull customers. It was pretty fierce out there."
Christmas Day 2007 fell on a Tuesday giving retailers an extra day of trading.
"It tended to make that weekend bigger."
He said overall spending in December, including all electronic and cash transactions, was expected to be up by around 5 per cent on December 2006, when people spent $4.68 billion, excluding the motor vehicle industry.
Overall spending figures for December 2007 will be available next month.
