KEY POINTS:
Retailers are bracing themselves for a last-minute Christmas shopping frenzy as Kiwis gear up to spend more than $5 billion this month.
While some people have already done their Christmas shopping, most will leave it until the last minute, creating a headache for retailers, New Zealand Retailers Association chief executive John Albertson predicted.
With just 17 days to go until Christmas, Mr Albertson is urging people to get their shopping done early.
"The next two-and-a-half weeks are going to go mad, particularly that last week from the 17th through to the weekend of the 23rd."
Last December, New Zealanders spent around $4.8 billion. "We are expecting 5 per cent growth on that this December. While the economy has slowed a bit, we still believe there will be a bit of growth."
Cameron Brewer, head of the Newmarket Business Association, said he was predicting relatively strong consumer spending this Christmas, despite a tough winter and spring for many retailers across the board.
"Because Christmas falls on a Tuesday, we are expecting those last two weekends to be big. And a lot of people will finish [work] on the Friday before Christmas and will shop over that last weekend, which we are expecting to be a real cracker."
Paymark, which processes 75 per cent of all electronic transactions, said it expected to process more than 100 transactions a second during the busiest 15 minutes leading up to Christmas.
