Last Friday was the busiest day of the year so far, with $235.6 million through the tills, up 5.7 per cent on the same day in 2012.
December spending for the accommodation sector was up 11.9 per cent, takeaways was up 10.4 per cent, hardware/building supplies 10.1 per cent, restaurants bars and cafes 10.4 per cent.
Northland Chamber of Commerce chief executive officer Tony Collins said the region's retailers had been through a tough time over the past 18 months and it was pleasing to see them regaining some of the ground lost during the year.
Good weather leading into Christmas and increasing economic confidence contributed to people feeling relaxed about spending more, he said.
Dickens Inn proprietor Nicki Cundy said the pub was busier this month than it had been in December last year. "The town is more vibrant," she said, attributing much of the crowd to the Whangarei District Council giving city shoppers a day of free parking.
Matapouri fisherman John, who was enjoying lunch at the Dickens Inn with his wife Alana and their daughter Morgan, backed up the Paymark figures by admitting he had spent more this Christmas than he had last December.
But teenager Regan Haika, of Kamo, who was nearby waiting to use a Westpac ATM to check his bank account, said he had spent less.
His family had a secret Santa system to ensure their half-dozen small fry received Christmas presents and adults shared the costs.
Further along Cameron St, Paper Plus manager Adam Isa was delighted with the large number of customers keeping his nine staff busy.
Books such as A Free Range Life by chef Annabel Langbein and The Luminaries by 2013 Man Booker Prize winner Eleanor Catton were popular choices, he said.
Among several buskers crooning for the shoppers' spare cash on Christmas Eve was JT Taylor who has just left Whangarei Boys' High School and needs to raise $8900 to study drama at the Globe Theatre in London and attend Otago University next year.
With talented young guitarist Jimmy Kay helping, JT was attracting an audience among the cheerful shoppers.
But despite the trend noted by Paymark, JT still had lots of room for more coins in his guitar case open on the footpath in front of them.