A general election the week before Christmas has hit local retailers hard and it appears unlikely they will make up the lost ground caused by customers putting off their festive spending because of the distraction of the election.

A number of city retailers have unanimously pinpointed the election factor as the reason for lower-than-usual sales in the run-up to Christmas.

"The election has killed us. Sales have been way down and we are not the only ones," said Kristi Grayson, of Pulp and Circumstance in Hamilton.

Ms. Grayson is also co-chair of the Chamber of Commerce's retail division. She said: "December has been painfully quiet. The election has pre-occupied people, I can see no other reason for the lower sales because the economy is strong.

She is doubtful there is now time to turn things around, although Pulp and Circumstance will be opening until 9 p.m. today and also open for business on Sunday afternoon.

Ms. Grayson said retailers were now taking a variety of approaches to attract more last minute sales: "Some retailers are opening later, some are discounting. We are all in the same boat."

This morning between 8.30 11 Gibbons Company is having a "Door Busters" promotion offering what it says will be significant savings on items.

Company chief executive Paula Clarke said: "It seems our clients have been pre-occupied with the election campaign, but now that it has taken place we have seen a quick uptake in business. The week before Christmas is always the busiest. I really feel the reason it has been so quiet is because of people being pre-occupied by the election."

Gibbons Company will be open until 9 p.m. this evening and until 6 p.m. on Saturday, as well as being open on Sunday afternoon and until 5 p.m. on Christmas Eve.

At the HWP Group car sales have been markedly lower for the past two months, according to company president Jonathan Brewin.

"I don't know if that is the election factor, although we have heard that some people have been deferring buying partly because of the election," he said.

"We have had some uplift in bike sales, possibly because we have some new models and possibly because people want something less expensive to run."

At HWP's Home Zone division things are looking slightly better than at the same time last year.