Busiest Boxing Day ever - Paymark

Boxing Day madness as thousands of people do their shopping at St Lukes Mall. Photo / Dean Purcell.

Yesterday's manic Boxing Day sales were the busiest ever, according to new Paymark figures.

Paymark, which processes around three quarters of New Zealand's electronic transactions, saw a 12 per cent increase in spending on Boxing Day - an additional $14.4 million in retailers' pockets compared to the same day last year.

In total, Kiwis spent $134.4m yesterday.

It follows record-breaking sales on Christmas Eve, with $238.4m through the network, 18.5 per cent up on the same day in 2012, said Paymark Head of Sales & Marketing, Paul Whiston.

"Christmas Eve this year smashed all our records. Not only did we see the highest value through the network ever, we also saw the highest number of transactions - at 4.35 million - and the largest number of transactions per second.''

For Boxing Day, deals at clothing and jewellery stores (+16.5 per cent), appliance and whiteware stores (+16.6 per cent), electronics retailers (+12 per cent), and floor covering and furniture stores (+17.5 per cent) brought the shoppers in.

"Yesterday was a continuation of the growth in Boxing Day sales we've seen in recent years. It's also an indication that consumer confidence is high due to the improved economy we're seeing at present _ a win-win for retailers as far as we're concerned.''

It was good to see some of the small regions reaping the benefits, he said.

"Gisborne saw the highest growth on Christmas Eve, up almost 36 per cent on the previous year. And yesterday Wairarapa saw an extra $200,000 injected into its local economy, an increase of 17.2 per cent on 2012.''

Auckland/Northland shoppers spent 13.2 per cent more than last year in Boxing Day sales, while Canterbury shoppers spent 15.1 per cent more.

On Christmas Eve, food / liquor retailers (+28 per cent) and department stores (+23.2 per cent) were amongst the biggest winners.

"The huge queues seen at the supermarkets on Christmas Eve were certainly reflected in our stats for the day, as people rushed to get their fresh produce for Christmas lunches and dinners,'' Mr Whiston said.