Consumers put the recession to one side this month to enjoy the best of the festive season, latest Paymark figures show.
People "embraced Christmas and big discounts" when they reached for their wallets, Paymark head of sales and customer relations Paul Whiston said.
The country's largest eftpos company recorded 1.69 million transactions nationally on Boxing Day, up 9% on last year's 1.53 million.
This resulted in a record $96 million run through the tills, which was up 8% on last year's $89 million Boxing Day effort.
In the Otago region, 83,753 transactions resulted in $5 million worth of purchases.
Otago's sales figure was up 7% on last year, but was "a little bit down" on Wellington's 15% and Auckland's 10% sales increase.
He believed the day would have made retailers very happy.
"A really good Christmas saved the month," Mr Whiston said.
However, one good sales day did not mean the end of economic concerns.
"It doesn't correct the month of December back to what we would normally see. We are still down."
Nationally, sales figures were up only 2.6% on last year, which did not even meet the rise of inflation.
Generally, a growth of 8% to 10% occurred, he said.
Paymark also reported a record $216 million in sales on Christmas Eve.
