Retail sales across the country have stalled

Stats New Zealand data shows total sales fell 0.5 percent in the March 2022 quarter, a big change from an 8.3 percent increase in December.

ASB Senior Economist Mark Smith says three things are weighing heavily on the sector this year.

He says the first is the soaring cost of living, the second is household balance sheets being a lot weaker ... and equity markets are sharply negative.