Kiwis have been spending more in the lead up to Christmas, with Paymark noting a 1 per cent increase compared to December 2017.
However, the impact of the "Black Friday" sales have been made apparent, with a peak towards the end of November followed by a decline at the start through to mid December, picking up again towards Christmas Day.
In terms of spending amount, last Thursday was the biggest day for Kiwi shoppers, with $296 million being forked out, just shy of the record $299 million on the same day in 2017.
The record for peak number of transactions was also shattered, reaching 182 per second at 12.16pm on Saturday, up again from the 177 per second seen last year.
Once Christmas Eve shopping is taken into account, the total spending across New Zealand for the month of December is expected to cross $5 billion.
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