Bars and cafes in The Octagon were busy. Photo: Gerard O'Brien

Otago retailers are counting the dollars after a record-setting Easter weekend.

Fuelled by the three Ed Sheeran concerts in Dunedin and the Warbirds Over Wanaka airshow, card payment transactions were up 10% compared with March last year.

Ed Sheeran played three sell-out concerts at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin. Photo: Craig Baxter

The 6.73 million transactions amounted to a $320 million spend, statistics released by Paymark show.

However, the true economic impact of the two events will be larger - Paymark records about 75% of card transactions and does not record cash purchases.

Citing commercial sensitivity, Paymark was unable to provide details on what was spent in Otago on what days, but in general terms the rise in spending was likely because of the two big events in the region, a spokesman said.

Sales were strongest in hardware and appliance stores, but close behind were accommodation, food and liquor suppliers, and cars and cafes.

Numbers at Wanaka's Warbirds show fuelled a fast and furious weekend for retailers, Wanaka Chamber of Commerce executive officer Naomi Lindsay said.

''Anecdotally, we know a lot of Wanakians were in Dunedin [for Sheeran], so the mix of domestic and international tourism may be different from previous years,'' she said.

''We don't have figures ... but we hear business was great over Easter and that restaurants were selling out of food by 8.30pm.''

Accommodation was fully booked throughout the town and in Queenstown over Easter, and there had also been plenty of camper vans in town.

Southland businesses also experienced a boomer of a March. Paymark figures showed a 10.67% increase in transactions for a $5.2 million spend.