Consumer spending has continued to rise, with seasonally adjusted retail sales increasing 1.2 percent in the three months to December compared with the previous quarter.
Excluding price changes, volumes also rose 1.2 percent driven by fuel sales, clothing, and recreational goods, official figures show.
Car sales also rose, continuing a strong run in the last year due in part to the high value of the dollar. Sales went backwards in supermarkets and grocery stores.
Westpac economist Felix Delbruck said he had been expecting a 2 percent increase. He said the decline in spending in supermarkets and on food in general was surprising but there were increases in spending on discretionary categories.
Compared with a year ago, actual sales rose 3.9 percent to $19.9 billion in the December quarter.
Statistics New Zealand says the trends shows consumer spending has generally been rising since mid-2009.