As the number of sleeps left until Christmas is dropping, the amount of money and transactions going through Paymark is increasing.

Taking insights from 2016 statistics, Paymark figures show constant increases compared to the weekly average of the first 10 months of the year.

It believes spending is likely to increase 10 per cent about now, before rising up to 156 per cent in the week before Christmas.

Retail NZ General Manager of Public Affairs Greg Harford said retailers face strong competition from one another domestically, and from large scale global websites.

He said it's a vital trading period.

"A lot of retail turnover is generated, and it's in a time of year where many retailers get the revenue they need to keep trading through the rest of the year."