At Fyshwick's Super Toyworld and Hobbies, the festive shopping has begun but isn't expected to accelerate until the fortnight leading up to December 25.

Manager Geoffrey Morton expected good sales despite shoppers being more cautious with their spending.

"We are starting to see a bit of a pick-up but I think people are still a little bit cautious with their spending. It's certainly been a somewhat challenging year," he said.

"I think once the 1st of December rolls around, people will realise Christmas really is just around the corner. We are seeing a trend in shopping a little bit later – certainly, the last couple of weeks is definitely peak time."

Canberra Business Chamber chief executive Chris Faulks said public service job cuts, alongside rising unemployment and uncertainty over the Mr Fluffy loose-fill-asbestos crisis, had affected consumer spending.

She said it was too early to predict how sales would compare with the previous holiday period but encouraged people to shop as they normally would and consider buying local.

"Obviously, consumer spending, consumer confidence and business confidence have been fragile virtually over the last year," she said.

"In addition, the retail sector is going through structural adjustment at the moment. E-commerce and online sales are having a big impact on bricks-and-mortar stores."

She said Christmas sales were critical for local retail.

"Retailers make a substantial number of sales in that period leading up to Christmas and the sales immediately following Christmas," she said. "We're hoping that spending holds up."

Sales have held up at Civic's Shop Handmade, according to co-owner Rachel Evangelou, with a steady flow of customers getting their gifts sorted early despite the impact of job losses on the economy.

"I've spoken to a lot of people who have already finished their Christmas shopping. Because our things are unique, quite often if you don't snap up early you miss out," she said.

"I think a lot of people are really conscious of where they're spending their Christmas money. A lot of conversations we're hearing, people want to support local."

At Impact Comics, the crux of Christmas shopping will be last minute, particularly as shoppers realise online purchases might not arrive in time for December 25.

Owner Mal Briggs said the holiday season wasn't as critical to his Civic business as it was to many other stores.

But items were becoming more popular as new films such as The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy and broke down the traditionally more-niche comic and merchandise market.

"We are seeing our products increasingly being given as gifts – we're increasing our stock to match that," he said.

"We tend to see more people really, really late. People suddenly realise they can't just get something online and get it on time so, they start shopping locally."