Shoppers are being urged to get their Christmas presents sorted in the next couple of days to escape the Christmas Eve mad rush in malls.
Paymark figures show sales are up by 7 percent in the first half of December compared to last year.
Retail New Zealand's Greg Harford says those in Auckland and Wellington are the big spenders this year.
"I guess it perhaps points to a fast-moving economy up there, and perhaps a bit of economic uncertainty in the regions."
Mr Harford says traffic is usually an issue this time of the year so people need to plan ahead.
RadioLIVE
