Releasing the Westpac McDermott Miller Consumer Confidence Index, Mr Ranchhod said household confidence fell back in the March quarter by 1.2 points to 111.4.
Given normal quarter-to-quarter volatility, and the soggy summer weather, it was a small fall.
''Rather than signalling any material softening in the household sector, it looks more like households are continuing to saunter along.''
March's slight fall in confidence mainly reflected less optimism about the economic outlook in the next year, he said. That might reflect some anxiety about the upcoming election. It might also reflect concerns around housing affordability or political developments offshore - both of which continued to hit the headlines in recent weeks.
But while households might be less optimistic, they were not pessimistic. The proportion of households reporting they were in better shape than they were last year was higher than average.
''These healthy - but not exuberant - levels of household confidence have seen household spending growth continuing to trend along.
''The latest GDP figures showed that on a per capita basis, household spending rose by around 2% last year. While certainly not roaring away, that's not an unhealthy rate of spending growth.''
Importantly, the increases in per-person spending and relatively firm levels of confidence were coming on top of the fastest population growth seen in New Zealand since the 1970s, and solid growth in employment, Mr Ranchhod said.
Together with low interest rates, those factors were providing a boost to retail spending. And with most of last year's gains in confidence carrying through in to the new year, cash registers should continue ringing through this year, he said.
