Last minute Christmas shoppers set a new eftpos record - hitting 132 transactions per second over the lunch hour .
That compares to 131 per second in 2009 and 129 per second in 2010.
Paymark, which handles most electronic transactions, says spending for the past week reached $1.3 billion - up 3.4% on last year.
Paymark chief executive Simon Tong says the week began very busily but tailed off in the last few days, particularly in Auckland and Wellington.
"It's very typical for the busiest hour of the year to be between noon and 1pm on Christmas Eve," he says.
Mr Tong says the rate of transactions dropped away as people began to head away on holiday.
Paymark records show that in this week alone, $1.3 billion has passed through retailers' tills.
This time last year, shopping malls across Christchurch were shut following a 6.2 magnitude quake that struck on 23 December.
This Christmas Eve they were open with the Westfield Mall in Riccarton expecting up to 68,000 shoppers through its doors.
Mall manager Bronwyn Anchor says people were queuing to get in the door, and men made up most of the shoppers.
Boxing Day is likely to be even busier, she says.
Paymark figures show Cantabrians spent just over $152 million this week.
Meanwhile, in Auckland, figures show the retail spend over the past week has topped $530 million, compared to $520 million last year.
In the capital, Wellington shoppers were more restrained - the tills registered $158, compared with last year's $160 million.
