"Conversely, spending during the same seven days in 2019 was down 7.9 per cent in Canterbury and 6 per cent in Auckland/Northland compared to last year," Brislen said.
Nationally, Paymark processed transactions worth $1.196 billion with an underlying decrease in spending of 0.8 per cent for the same period last year, the Paymark report stated.
Brislen said both the shift in regional spending and the overall spending decline was not unusual for Easter.
Spending swings from the busy Easter Thursday - the busiest day outside of December- with a total of $263m, up 44 per cent in underlying from Thursday, April 19, 2018, to sharp declines on Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
Brislen said the noteworthy exceptions were small grocery stores, fuel stations and hospitality providers.
Spending at grocery, liquor, fuel and hospitality merchants was responsible for almost all the regional spending increase, he said.
Tauranga Chamber of Commerce chief executive Stan Gregec said it was great news.
"This is confirmation that Tauranga and the Bay were humming, which is what we all already know anyway.
"The fine weather, heaps of things happening over the Easter weekend and people checking out the new malls - will all have contributed to it," he said.
"Confidence fuels spending, and we have plenty of that at the moment in the Bay."
Top six spenders
West Coast $10m (up 22.6%)
Gisborne $11.7m, up 19.6%
Marlborough 17.7m, up 14.5%
Wanganui $13.2m, up 11.7%
Wairarapa 12.2m, up 9%.
Source: Paymark Limited
