It's one of the busiest days of the year for retail staff... as shoppers flood the stores to grab a Black Friday bargain

For many, it's the start of the busy Christmas shopping season.

Paul Huang's the store manager at Noel Leeming on Auckland's Queen Street, and says shoppers are spending up big.

He says by lunchtime, the store had done about five times more than what it would normally by that time.

Huang says they've brought in about 30 percent more staff for today... but still need more.