KEY POINTS:
The gloomy economic outlook and not-so-gloomy weather failed to put a downer on the Boxing Day retail rush.
New Zealand's largest Eftpos company, Paymark, processed $96 million worth of transactions on Friday, a record amount for December 26, and 8 per cent up on last year.
The total number of transactions - 1.69m - was up 9.3 per cent.
"You'd hardly believe there was a recession on," said Paymark's Paul Whiston.
Unsurprisingly the biggest increases were in the metropolitan areas.
Wellington recorded a 15 per cent increase and Auckland was up more than 10 per cent - but many rural areas were "very flat indeed", Whiston said.
Some retailers were caught by surprise when shoppers turned out for Boxing Day sales in bumper numbers.
Newmarket Business Association general manager Cameron Brewer said some stores found themselves "overwhelmed with customers and simply understaffed and ill-prepared".
"It's a huge but welcome surprise," he said.
Shopping centres throughout the country reported a brisk trade yesterday with queues forming outside malls before the doors were opened and car parks filled to overflowing.
There was a new record for Christmas Eve too, with $216m of sales reported by Paymark.
But Whiston said the overall figures for December have been low, showing that shoppers weren't entirely oblivious to the credit crunch. Turnover for the month to date was up 6 per cent in volume and 2.8 per cent in value, with previous December recording increases of about 8 per cent.
- ADDITIONAL REPORTING: NZPA
