KEY POINTS:
The great, Kiwi Christmas frenzy was in full swing by lunchtime yesterday. And the day's torrid trading looked set to enter the record books.
With $200 million spent in over 100 Eftpos transactions a second, shoppers ferreted out last minute gifts - and available parking spaces - at malls nationwide.
Shoppers collectively were brandishing their Eftpos and Visa cards more than ever previously recorded, Paymark Eftpos' chief executive officer, Simon Tong, told the Herald on Sunday yesterday.
Between noon and 1pm, 338,000 electronic transactions were processed - breaking the previous one-hour record by about 18,000.
While yesterday's final Paymark electronic transaction count was still being calculated late last night, it was expected the day's sales would top $200 million in over 3.3 million transactions, making up for a slower than expected week last week, Tong said. Electronic transactions made up 60 per cent of the day's retail spending.
"Both of these statistics will be records for Paymark network trading," Tong enthused yesterday. "It's been really cooking."
The system had processed $36 billion worth of transactions so far this year. "For the week we're still predicting five to seven per cent growth in transaction volumes over the same week last year and for the Christmas period in general," Tong said.
Today is expected to be quieter, though Monday could surpass Saturday, he projected.
Retail forecasters had previously suggested Kiwi pockets might feel the pinch this Christmas. But while many retailers told the Herald on Sunday that the weeks leading up to the big event had been slower than usual, the hard data told a different story.
The number of Paymark transactions processed was up an average 6.9 per cent across the country last week compared with the same period last year.
Internet shopping in the first two weeks of December was up 44 per cent year-on-year.
Tong said Kiwis fell into two camps: the early-birds who did their Christmas shopping at the beginning of December, or those who left buying until the last minute as there was still the weekend before the big day.
The Paymark system processes three quarters of the country's electronic transactions.
Nearly 90 per cent of Kiwis have a debit card, making us the world's number one users of Eftpos.
Fly Buys data, based on points collected by participant companies, suggests Kiwis may be avoiding the last minute Christmas rush, spreading their spend over the year.
Sale peaks at Christmas were becoming less pronounced, reported marketing manager Chris Lamers.
Three years ago the Fly Buys points collected in December was 37 per cent higher than in November, whereas it's now only around 25 per cent higher, he said. But overall, spending throughout 2007 had increased compared with last year.
Lamers said data suggested Kiwis were "shopping smarter, rather than necessarily less. They're spreading spending throughout the year which could reflect better budgeting, and taking advantage of bonus specials and sales throughout the year".
Auckland's major motorways were flowing reasonably well into the afternoon, reported Barbara Michele, monitoring the flow on the Advanced Traffic Management System, based at the Auckland Harbour Bridge control centre.
But by 11am yesterday, traffic was backed up heading north out of Wellington, with motorists experiencing 20-30 minute delays, police communications reported.
