ANZ chief economist Sharon Zollner said it was a positive end to what has been a tough year. Photo: Yiting Lin / RNZ
Consumer confidence has returned to optimism for the first time in more than three years.
The ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence survey for December finally cracked 100 points, rising to 100.2 points from 99.8 in November.
Anything under 100 points indicates pessimism.
ANZ chief economist Sharon Zollner said it was a positive end to what has been a tough year, driven most strongly by consumers with mortgages.
While perceptions of current personal financial situations fell 2 points to a net negative 14 percent, there had been a sharp improvement in the number who thought it was a good time to buy a major household item - up 12 points, but still in negative territory (net -1 percent).
"Indeed, the indicator suggests retail spending might soon stop falling in annual change terms," Zollner said.
"Retailers have had a torrid time over the past couple of years, but this is some relative Christmas cheer to round out the year."
She said there was also a notable uplift in Wellington.
"After being out in the cold all year, Wellingtonians have rejoined the crowd, with a strong lift in confidence in recent months.
"The city's retail and hospitality operators will be hoping this means better times ahead after a very tough period."
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