Tills going flat tack with sales up 6pc

Sherie Rigby, assistant manager, of The Warehouse in Napier, said this year's shopping season was "crazier than ever". Photo / Warren Buckland

Hawke's Bay tills are ringing with the joys of Christmas as spending is up almost 6 per cent over last year.

Statistics released by Paymark revealed Hawke's Bay residents had spent $33.6 million in the second week of December - 5.8 per cent more than in 2014.

The majority was spent on debit cards ($20.7 million) as opposed to credit cards ($12.9 million).

Napier Warehouse assistant manager Sherie Rigby said this year's shopping season had felt "crazier than usual".

"It's been flat tack," she said. "Our sales are definitely up a lot from last year, it's just been crazy."

With the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens merchandise has proven popular with boys while Frozen toys are still a must have for girls.

"The Roses and Favourites (chocolates) have also been selling unbelievably well."

Beattie & Forbes Booksellers co-owner Megan Landon said the shop seemed to be busier than last year.

It's been flat tack. Our sales are definitely up a lot from last year, it's just been crazy.

Sherie Rigby, Napier Warehouse assistant manager

"We're getting a lot of people through the doors," she said. "Some people don't seem to realise Christmas is at the end of the week so they're just getting started with their shopping."

All ages were buying books, including children buying for their parents and grandparents buying for their grandchildren.

Dan Carter's biography My Story was really popular, as were local histories such as Michael Fowler's recently released book Hastings, Havelock North and Napier: A collage of history.

Plaza Books in Hastings, which is also owned by Mrs Landon and her husband James, was busy as well, she said. "The store sales and online sales are both going well."

Mrs Landon expected both stores to become busier as the week progressed.

Nationwide, electronic spending for the second week of December was up 7 per cent year-on-year to $1.2 billion. Paymark chief executive Mark Rushworth said New Zealanders were spending strongly this Christmas.

"We are seeing strong transaction growth through merchants with high ticket prices such as furniture stores, garden centres and hardware outlets, plus double-digit annual growth through the hospitality sector," he said. "These figures are consistent with a generally strong housing market and a positive end of year."

Credit card use was up 9.2 per cent year-on-year with more than $600 million spent in the week. Meanwhile, Eftpos transactions were up 5.1 per cent to a total spend of more than $640 million.

"We are seeing credit cards being used more, as is typical this time of year within some sectors, but it is worth noting that Eftpos card use remains the larger means of payment," Mr Rushworth said. "This flies in the face of the belief that Kiwis spend up large on credit cards for Christmas."

Paymark typically handled 50-60 transactions a second but was currently handling about 75-80 transactions. NZME