Christmas 2023 is only six weeks away which is a scary proposition for some and entering the shopping phase for many.

The Lismore App wanted to gauge how CBD businesses were travelling in the past couple of months and what expectations they have for Christmas, which is, as we know, traditionally the biggest trading time of the year.

The overall feeling was 'positive' leading into Christmas, even after some difficult weeks in October for some industries.

Food and service industries had no complaints with reports of a good trade, some like The Garden Plate, are recording their best ever trading days and weeks. This is similar for hairdressers.

Retail has been a different story as it is a discretionary business, meaning if money is tight due to interest rate rises and the cost of living increases, they are usually the first industries to suffer.

Matthew Healey from Daley's Homewares on Keen Street said the CBD progress since the flood has been steady and it is positive but we are still a long way from normal.

"Other towns around the district appear to be getting retail business that would traditionally have come to Lismore. So for example, I know the businesses in Casino are quite strong at the moment because people who would normally come to Lismore to go shopping, are now stopping in Casino, instead of coming to Lismore. We're hearing anecdotally that lots of people in Goonellabah don't come downtown anymore, which is really disappointing because this is the heart of Lismore and has been for 150 odd years."

"If people don't come and support the businesses here, then the heart will die and that will have a direct impact on other people. So, if there's no centre here, then property prices start to fall. But more importantly, I support the local basketball team, the local netball teams, I support soccer, I do a lot of work with community groups and sporting groups. If I'm not here, then there's no sponsor for the netball teams and the basketball teams and that's the case with a lot of the business, the local businesses. It's the local businesses who support the local community groups and we just need the local community to help support us."

"We're coming into the Christmas period and everybody's under stress at the moment. We had another rate rise last week and it's tough. So, think about where you spend your dollars. Rather than spend $50 on TeamViewer on eBay, or Amazon, come and spend the $50 in Lismore. We've got an amazing range of really interesting stores. We've got nearly everything you could possibly want. Why go overseas? Why send the money to China or to billionaires in America, there's no need for it."

Janice Palmer from Shoppe One said, "We don't know what it'll be like. I'm betting on a good Christmas. I'm hoping people come down. People are buying Christmas now so I'm just hopeful. We'll have more Christmas stock going on the floor this week."

Felicity Hyde, owner of Scoops and Candy said, "It's good to see that people are coming out to try to support the CBD. It is feeling a bit more positive heading towards Christmas time."

"It's been down a little bit but I do understand people with the cost of living, obviously struggling, but heading towards Christmas I think people are going to want to spend more, especially locally."

Down on Magellan Street, Deb Ray from Music Bizarre was closed for half of October thanks to a bout of COVID but generally, 2023 hasn't been as good as 2022 with all the post-flood support. This year is more normal.

"I feel like my takings are better than I would have expected considering how much stock I've lost and how big a hit the town has taken. And I still kind of feel like that, but I feel like we're now on a good run to Christmas. I feel like it's gonna keep picking up into Christmas and this week's definitely felt better."

"It's funny because when I look around town, I just keep noticing the new shops and businesses that are opening and the places that have finally been fixed and painted inside and stuff and look nice again. Some people see the negative and you look for the positive, it's definitely there."

Around to Molesworth Street and into Lisa Lamarre's beautiful shop La Travaille at the start of the Star Court Arcade. La Travaille is a relatively new shop, opening six months before the 2022 floods.

(Lisa Lamarre in La Trouvaille on Molesworth Street at the entrance of the Star Court Arcade)

"I would have to say October was brutal. However, I'm confident going forward into Christmas because this time last year things were picking up really well and we were able to get a very good insight into the type of products that people are after. In my case it's jewellery. So we remain optimistic. We'll see in January."

For Elton Cummings at Bi-Rite, it's been good steady business for the last few weeks.

"I can't see why we wouldn't have a good Christmas. Shops are coming back. They all look good, they're clean and all have new stock in them."

"There's still a lot of people wanting to buy in Lismore to support the locals. That message comes through every time someone buys something, 'I would rather come into Lismore and buy it rather than go somewhere else'. And that is time and time again. People have definitely got that loyalty."

Shop owners feel optimistic about the next six weeks, however, that optimism can only be delivered if the residents of Lismore and those who work in Lismore visit the local shops and buy their Christmas gifts in support of businesses that continue to have challenges thrown at them like COVID, flood, inflation and interest rates.

Lismore City Council have their 'Back Lismore' campaign and it's not that Lismore is back and operating on all cylinders, it's for people to back Lismore, to show their support and buy local, especially in the next six weeks.