Leading the December Hawke's Bay charge, with a 20.8 per cent increase, was the region's accommodation sector, followed by food and beverage on 16.1 per cent and electrical and electronic retailing at 12.6 per cent, but all sectors reported strong earnings.
Economic development agency Business Hawke's Bay chief executive Susan White said it was "awesome" to see the positive sign within the Hawke's Bay market.
"The Paymark statistics show that both the value and volume of transactions has increased - they back up what we anecdotally can see when we visit bustling cafes and attend well-supported events and attractions, especially over the summer," she said.
"It would be great to see growth sustained throughout the year beyond the summer months. That may well be possible given that tourism is a key economic driver for New Zealand, and Hawke's Bay is a strong tourism destination."
A Paymark statement said the annual growth rate across all sectors dipped below the average of 2016 in January, the result of changing days within months rather than a fundamental slowdown in spending growth.
"In the last five years, the combination of a stronger housing market, strong tourism, relatively low oil prices and strong uptake of contactless cards has tended to support stronger spending through the Paymark network. This year started with three out of the four driving forces intact."
The rising price of petrol was a noticeable trend.
"This showed in Paymark figures in January as a 1.7 per cent seasonally adjusted increase in spending through fuel retailers. Noticeably the annual growth rate for the sector at 6.3 per cent was the fastest recorded in 35 months amongst these merchants.
"This rise in fuel prices does not appear to have dampened spending elsewhere to date, given that underlying spending excluding fuel also increased a strong 1.7 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms over January."
