Shoppers were out in force to take advantage of the Boxing Day sales.
Many shops reported being much busier than last year.
Westfield shopping centre chain said many malls were filling by midday.
The Newmarket Business Association says it seems pre-Christmas discounting had done little to quell the rush on Boxing Day.
The Retail Association expects sales figures for this month to be up about 5% on December last year.
Online auction site Trade Me says it's had 10,000 listings since Christmas, which it suspects are mostly people trying to on-sell unwanted gifts.
However, it says those listing such items online should be extra careful to make sure they don't sell the gift to the person who gave it to them.
