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Jammed carparks and lengthy queues await shoppers trying to squeeze buying sprees into the last three days before Christmas.
Police prepared for the rush by boosting numbers at the Botany Town Centre in Manukau, which saw a rise in criminal activity last festive season.
Meanwhile, retailers at Auckland's Sylvia Park were plied with chocolate and vitamin-filled "survival packs" to prepare for the expected surge in shoppers.
Many major shops have extended their opening hours.
Electronic payment provider Paymark said 23 million electronic transactions worth $1.3 billion had been made in the past eight days.
"We can see from the transaction volumes that the momentum is clearly building up to the weekend," said chief executive Simon Tong. "We believe we will see record levels of transactions on Saturday and Sunday."
Takapuna resident Joy Jones yesterday made the most of snaring a parking spot near the shops in Albany on Auckland's North Shore.
"I just came to pick up a couple of things but I'll probably get sidetracked, since I got a carpark."
Her handbag was already full with 11-month-old chihuahua-poodle cross Sophie along for the trip.
Fellow shopper Sue Gill was relieved to avoid the weekend rush.
"Parking around here was diabolical," she said. "I wouldn't want to be doing this on Saturday or Sunday."
North Shore City Council park safe manager Jason Marris said parking wardens had reported verbal abuse from stressed shoppers but "nothing out of the ordinary".
He said the wardens got into the Christmas spirit by being more lenient in the past week.
"We recognise the fact that shops are busy and it does take you longer to do things," said Mr Marris. "It's a healthy balance because if someone overstays parking too long, then there's another person that's missing out."
At Botany Town Centre police boosted numbers in response to a crime rise last festive season.
Community Constable Craig Gibson said bag snatches and car break-ins were particularly prevalent.
"It is a target area for criminals come to ply their trade," he said. "The answer is to really concentrate on the area before Christmas."
Warehouse spokeswoman Cynthia Church said customers had been stocking up, with the chain's top-selling Christmas gift nationally being Rose's chocolates. Trampolines had been a surprise hit and CDs, DVDs and books remained popular.
