Retailers selling hardware, appliances, furniture and building supplies had a positive month in October, with consumers spending more on items for their homes.

The latest figures from Paymark showed that furniture purchases were up 15.4 per cent, and building supplies were up 16.5 per cent, compared with October 2013.

Strong sales growth was experienced in appliance, hardware, home, and decorating stores.

Regions with the most growth were the Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Waikato, Auckland and Northland, Paul Whiston, Paymark head of sales and marketing, said.

Increases were also reported in takeaways (up 14.6 per cent compared with October 2103), accommodation (up 11.2 per cent), and hospitality (up 11.3 per cent).

Spending at clothing retailers was down compared with the same period last year.

Across the whole Paymark network, spending was up eight per cent.

Slower growth during October was reported in South Canterbury (an increase of 0.9 per cent), Taranaki (2.7 per cent), Gisborne (3.7 per cent) and Hawkes Bay (3.1 per cent).

Compared with October 2013, the number of monthly card transactions was 8.2 per cent higher in 2014, with credit card transactions increasing by 19.2 per cent.

Whiston said that there was a 300 per cent increase in the number of contactless payments processed from 700,000 in October 2013 to three million during October 2014.