Shoppers have spirited festive season

Alcohol retailers have been big winners over the Christmas shopping period.

Alcohol spending has increased this festive season with $12 million spent nationally in two days at bottle stores and liquor outlets.

On Christmas Eve $10.1 million was spent on alcohol through Eftpos transactions and on Boxing Day shoppers were back spending another $1.5 million at alcohol outlets.

Paymark spending electronic figures for Boxing Day sales shows spending on alcohol throughout New Zealand on Boxing Day was up considerably on 2013.

Alcohol sales had the most growth in retail sales on the day with a 23.1 per cent increase on last year's Boxing Day.

This figure was followed slightly by furniture and flooring sales which experienced 22 per cent growth on Boxing Day.

Spending across the country was up with Kiwi wallets opened for Christmas Eve and Boxing Day with a record $404.3 million spent through the Paymark network this year.

Christmas Eve saw an increase of 10.5 per cent in spending with $263.5 million, with retailers receiving an additional boost in sales on Boxing Day with $140.8 million spent; that's a 4.8 per cent increase in spending by shoppers during the same time last year.

In Wairarapa, shoppers spent $2.8 million on Christmas Eve, an increase of 6.5 per cent on 2013.

On Boxing Day, bargain hunters were out again in the region spending $1.2 million in shops, an increase of 3.5 per cent on last year's post-Christmas sales.

Paymark head of customer relations Mark Spicer said high sales growth had been experienced countrywide.

Figures show alcohol retailers experienced the strongest growth in sales followed by furniture outlets, he said.

"We appear to have dined well on Christmas Eve and then returned for more on Boxing Day."