Most retailers in Altona are pleased with how the holiday shopping season turned out, according to the general manager for the Altona and District Chamber of Commerce.

Stephanie Harris says most local merchants reported a busy holiday period from November through December.

"There were many different promotions going on. The Chamber hosted Holiday Open House at the end of November, the Altona Mall had their own promotion going on with the Christmas Cash program and a lot of members also had different specials going on."

Uptake in the Altona Chamber Bucks program usually increases during the final months of the year, and 2017 was no different.

"This is the time of year when we sell about 70 percent of our Chamber Bucks. We did see an increase in sales over last year by almost $5,000 pushing the total Chamber Bucks sold to about $74,000."

Harris noted, the holiday season can be a make or break time of year for many businesses, and with competition from various shopping centres in the region, good customer service can go a long way in helping retailers to compete.