A new bike might be on many festive wish lists, but George Clark - better known as Santa to Westfield Belconnen shoppers - has received some more difficult requests.
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''You get some kids saying their parents are broken up and they want to get them back for Christmas,'' he said. ''I just say there are some things that Santa can't fix.''
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Mr Clark has been busy since the centre started offering its annual festive photos, an experience which has been extended to include family pets this year.
Westfield Belconnen senior manager Katie Holsgrove said cats, dogs and even a lamb have had their photos taken with Santa as part of the Claws and Paws promotion.
''It's the first year we've done the pet photos and it's been very well received,'' she said.
Ms Holsgrove said the festive season had already seen a good level of shopper traffic, which was expected to increase.
ACT and Region Chamber of Commerce chief executive Chris Peters said he was confident the festive season would boost local businesses, with Canberra-based public servants now financially reassured after the recent budget update failed to deliver the big job cuts some feared.
''There's already been a change in confidence,'' he said.
''I expect we've turned a corner in tough times. I don't think we'll see a huge increase, but there will be an increase.''
Canberra's shop owners have been particularly hard hit by the cautious consumers who have been more careful about how they spend their money this year. Retail sales have fallen in six of the first 10 months and are 2.5 per cent lower than they were at the beginning of the year.
However, a new National Australia Bank survey found conditions improved for most Australian businesses last month, particularly those in the retail, mining and services sectors.
But the NAB found that confidence about the future remains relatively low, an opinion supported by local businesses in another recent survey.
The Sensis Business Index stated a third of ACT businesses were expecting festive trading conditions to be quieter than the previous year, while 44per cent predicted sales would be on par with last year.
Those expecting a downfall predicted trade conditions to be 26per cent slower than those experienced the previous year.
Report author Christena Singh said ACT small businesses recorded the nation's lowest profitability indicator over the past three months.
''While the summer trading period is expected to provide some improvement in profitability, Christmas trading is expected to be considerably down on last year,'' she said.
Local retailers linked weakened sales to online competition, despite a Productivity Commission report last week stating that only 2per cent of total retail trade was made via overseas websites. Monaro Models and Hobbies owner Terry Griffiths established an online presence for his business six years ago, but said it was still hard to compete with overseas retailers. ''We're all suffering because of the internet,'' he said.
''It seems that real-life service isn't as valued as it used to be. The trend I'm seeing is that people would rather shop online. All they're looking at is the dollars rather than the experience.''