Wairarapa shoppers spend up on Boxing Day

Boxing Day spending in Wairarapa has shown a strong year-on-year lift for retailers.

After a strong December, Paymark figures released for the region showed a spend on Wednesday of $1 million, up on last year's Boxing Day spend of $900,000.

Paul Whiston, Paymark head of sales and marketing, said the strong Boxing Day figures were a fantastic finish to what had been an already positive month of spending.

"Yesterday we saw over two million transactions and $120 million in sales through the network nationally, $14.2 million up on Boxing Day last year," Mr Whiston said.

"This is the first time in five years that we've seen double-digit growth and we're rapt for retailers.

"It's also great to see that some of the sectors, which have been lagging of late, experienced a real boost on Boxing Day and the queues and traffic outside the malls around the country [on Boxing Day] were anecdotal evidence of this."

Paymark posted significant growth in the electronics sector including computers and phones, with sales up 31.7 per cent annually.

The company, which processes about 75 per cent of all electronic transactions in New Zealand, also recorded strong growth in clothing and apparel, and jewellery, up 20.7 per cent and 24.4 per cent respectively.

Gisborne took gold for the highest spending growth in the regions, up 22.9 per cent annually.