Hawke's Bay continues to lead the country for growth in retail spending.
Paymark, which processes 75 per cent of electronic transactions, says December figures show that, until the 21st, Hawke's Bay spending was 11.1 per cent up on the same period last year to $118.7 million.
The New Zealand increase was 7 per cent.
Hawke's Bay was ahead of Bay of Plenty on 10.7 per cent and West Coast on 10.3 per cent growth.
Hawke's Bay was also ahead of the rest of New Zealand for the first 14 days of December for increased spending, up 10.4 per cent on the same period in 2015.