Shoppers out to beat the rise in GST went on a spending splurge on the final day before prices went up last week.
GST went up from 12.5% to 15% on Friday.
Paymark, which processes three-quarters of all New Zealand's electronic transactions, says that on Thursday shoppers spent nearly $36 million more than they did on the final day of September last year.
Paymark says almost all sectors benefited from the pre-GST rush but the biggest increase in spending was on petrol, up by 50%.
Supermarket takings were up a by a third.
These businesses, along with those in building, hardware, travel and electronics, had the highest sales, accounting for about two-thirds of last Thursday's shopping spree.