CBD traffic might have been gridlocked but were shoppers spending over summer?

Pavilion Cafe and Bar owner Jon Watson said while the number of people through the door was "great", revenue was down by 10 to 15 per cent.

While patronage at the popular foreshore location was on par with previous years - about 1000 a day - customers were not spending as much.

People who were coming in for bacon and eggs were now skipping the extras like hashbrowns, Mr Watson said, and those that would traditionally stay on for a glass of wine on the balcony after having lunch were instead heading back to their foreshore accommodation to have drink instead.

He said he had been told by the owner of one Warrnambool bottle shop their sales were "through the roof" this summer.

"People are really feeling the cost of living," he said.

"A couple of bucks off each customer - it adds up.

"I've heard it's like that across the board."

Mr Watson said retailers had told him it was one of the worst years since the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It will be interesting to see what the next few months bring.... we might be about to hit a bit of a slow down," he said.

Taylor's Surfodesy owner Max Taylor said the summer was "a little disappointing" with sales down a "fair percentage" - 10 to 15 per cent on the record highs of the post-COVID-19 pandemic levels.

"The weather certainly hasn't helped us one iota," he said. "We're still waiting for a run of hot days."

He said the only consolation was that the downturn in sales was a statewide trend.

"We're certainly not on our own."

New data shows shoppers nationwide slashed retail spending in the run-up to Christmas by the most since the pandemic lockdowns, cutting back on household goods, clothes and footwear.

Retail sales plunged 2.7 per cent in December, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported this week.

Mr Taylor said the combination of the bad weather and economic climate had "certainly slowed things down"

After 51 years in business, he said he had weathered economic storms "many times before".

Phinc owner Tracey Togni said she had had a "good summer" with trade picking up as the month went on at her clothing and footwear store.

She said the main street was busy.

Ms Togni said while Christmas trade was "not bad" it was down.

She said people were coming through the shop but not spending as much, but that was to be expected with the cost of living pressures.

"A lot of other businesses have been struggling and very quiet," she said.

Anecdotally, she said other business had noticed people were not spending money on bigger items.

Mr Watson said he was surprised to see the number of hotel vacancies in the city over the long weekend.

"I've never seen anything like it before," he said.

He said even the caravan parks had a mass exodus mid-week leading up to the Australia Day long weekend. That was despite back-to-back major speedway events running across consecutive weekends.

Old Maritime Motor Inn owner Raj Patel while he was full over summer, it was only because of last-minute bookings.

"Normally I get bookings in advance and I'm turning people away. But this year we've got empty rooms and we've been selling last minute," he said.

"We did sell the last room only two days before the long weekend. Usually we're packed out.

"We have been busy. It is about even compared to last year but our restaurant sales have gone down.

"The cost of living, they don't want to dine out.

"So that means less hours for my staff which is not good."

But he said it had been "a good summer" for accommodation for him but he had noticed there were fewer long stays.

"Normally families book in for six or seven nights, but they're not. They book for two or three nights. A lot of one-nighters. We're not getting the multiple night bookings," Mr Patel said.

"People are taking shorter holidays instead of their normal long-term holidays.

"It's been a good summer. I'm happy with it."