Cash registers chimed loudly across Otago in May but nationally the spend was down on earlier months.
Paymark spokesman Paul Brislen said Paymark data revealed the value of spending through the Paymark network in Otago in May was 6.6% higher when compared to the same time a year earlier.
The $229.2 million spent through the network in Otago in May was the second highest spend growth in New Zealand, behind Hawke's Bay's 7.5% spend growth.
The $93.3 million spend in Southland in May was 5.1% higher than in May 2015.
A hot property market in some New Zealand regions had resulted in increased spending.
"As house values have increased, people have spent more,'' Mr Brislen said.
Shoppers were spending on credit cards and using the equity in their house to remortgage and free up cash to pay the credit card debt.
The value of spending through the Paymark network was 4.7% higher in May, compared with the same time a year earlier.
However, the national spending growth in May was slower than the first four months of the year, which ranged between 6% and 11%.
New Zealand spending growth through the network was running high for the first three weeks of the month but then "decelerated sharply'' in the last week.
The decline appeared to be a result of poor weather and the shift in Queen's Birthday to a week later this year, which distorted regional weekend figures.
Paymark processes 75% of all New Zealand retail transactions.
