Spending fell in March due to the earliest Easter in eight years.
The latest Commonwealth Bank Business Sales Indicator (BSI) shows sales fell by 0.7 per cent in trend terms in March, the third consecutive monthly fall.
CommSec chief economist Craig James said the result showed spending had softened since the strong growth recorded last year.
"Spending has been largely flat so far in 2016, but one-off factors appear to have influenced the BSI in March such as the Easter holiday break," he said in a statement.
"Nevertheless, there are some positive signs still showing through the economy, with interest rates continuing to remain at record lows and good employment figures, so we could see the BSI return to positive territory soon."
The March report showed spending slowed down in five of 19 industry sectors, including most prominently for mail order/telephone order providers, airlines, and amusement and entertainment providers.
However, spending in hotels and motels rose for the 39th consecutive month, and sales were also higher for government services and miscellaneous stores.
Victorian sales slumped 2.3 per cent in March, with spending also down in the ACT, the Northern Territory, Queensland, Tasmania and Western Australia.
Spending in NSW rose 0.2 per cent in March and South Australian sales rose 0.1 per cent over the previous month.
CBA's more volatile seasonally adjusted measure of sales fell by 1.8 per cent in March after sliding 1.7 per cent in February and rising by 0.1 per cent in January.
The BSI measures economy-wide spending, tracking credit and debit card transactions processed through Commonwealth Bank sales terminals.
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