A Hamilton retailer is calling for more holiday season events to drive up foot traffic in local stores.

Kimwana Eve of Lookie Lookie in the Washington Mall saw a notable increase in shoppers during the Corporation of Hamilton’s Rockin Around City Tree event on November 28.

“The amount of people we had coming through the store after the Christmas tree lighting was amazing,” Ms Eve said. “People were excited to shop.”

She wants to see more activities like that, but done in unison with the various stakeholders.

Collaboration between the Corporation of Hamilton, the Chamber of Commerce and the Washington Mall had a lot to do with the success of the event for retailers, she said.

“It cannot be just: ‘You do this and you do that’. The public also has to be well-informed about what is going on.”

She described business as steady in her store, with customisable Christmas shirts doing particularly well.

Ms Eve features goods and products from over 60 local vendors in her store.

Other local retailers described a changeable Christmas season, mirroring the year as a whole.

Joseph Calouro, co-owner of electronics store Sound Decision said: “This year held many highs and lows for us.”

Business was not as steady as in the past. “The year has been very unpredictable and Christmas has been much of the same thing,” he said. “Some days are busy and some days are not.”

Mr Calouro said on the last Saturday before Christmas things were eerily quiet, even compared to an ordinary Saturday. On Monday, business was picking up with last-minute shoppers.

“We have decided this year to do a Christmas draw with a bunch of prizes to drum up business,” he said.

These include two 86-inch televisions, popular gaming systems and other items.

Part of the problem has been import tariffs implemented in the United States earlier this year.

“That has definitely impacted some things,” Mr Calouro said.

Earlier in the year, when President Donald Trump’s tariffs were shifting rapidly, some vendors held off buying new stock.

“You just never know what would happen from week to week,” Mr Calouro said.

However, this did not impact the price of electronics at Sound Decision as much as expected.

Matthew Gerardo, vice-president of Joshua Bate Trading said his shop was fairly busy throughout the year.

In 2025, however, they saw a significant difference in the month leading up to Christmas, especially during Black Friday week.

The Devonshire store sells appliances and other goods. He described a topsy-turvy year.

“Different brands, vendors and manufacturers are doing things slightly differently from one another and they are not all on the same timetable,” he said. “It has been a constant shuffle of updating prices and quotations.”

Meanwhile, Ian Smith, managing director of Astwood Dickinson, painted a more positive business picture, reporting continual year-on-year growth.

“This year has fortunately been another good one,” Mr Dickinson told The Royal Gazette.

This year, the store has placed more emphasis on relationships, and listening to what customers want.

“Our strongest market is our local one, so this is magnified at Christmas,” he said. “It is always lovely seeing our friends on a daily basis having fun and buying some wonderful gifts to please their loved ones.”

He said in December the focus switches more onto jewellery rather than watches which is a significant part of their annual business.