This comes as the National Retail Association says spending increased nationally in November 2021, compared with previous years.

The past two weeks have seen COVID cases rise in the Wimmera beyond levels seen in either 2021 or 2020.

Dimboola Imaginarium owner and Western Vic Business vice-chairman Chan Uoy said the rising cases have been reflected in the store's sales - with a drop in visitors in 2022.

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"In the past two weeks of this year, with Omicron, we have noticed a drop in trade," he said.

"We thought that was unusual but at the same time, we have seen in the news that people are fearful of Omicron and are spending less and travelling less. That reflects our figures, so that makes sense.

"People are self-imposing their own lockdown. This is generalising of course. But the essence of the past two weeks is that we have noticed it has been quieter."

The Dimboola Imaginarium was open every day in December except Christmas Day. Mr Uoy said a large portion of sales came from first-time visitors to the region, who would otherwise have vacationed elsewhere.

"We are still getting a lot of first-timers coming to Dimboola and the Wimmera. We make an effort to ask people where they are from when they come into the store, and a lot of people are coming because they can't go overseas or have interstate anxiety," he said.

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Wimmera Outdoors and Sportpower owner Gary Jelly reported a similar upturn in visitors to Horsham in the past month.

"We had a reasonably good December and new year. Mainly due to people not going overseas and camping," he said.

"It has been good as far as that goes, but when you have a five-week lockdown, as we had in July and August, you suffer from that.

"Personally, I would like to thank all of the Wimmera people for supporting small businesses in their town. It is so important for all businesses, whether you are in hospitality or retail."

Australian retail sales increased 5.8 per cent in November 2021 compared to the same time in the previous year, and increased 19.8 per cent compared to 2019, according to figures released today from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Western Vic Business ambassador Stacey Taig said retailers were coming off the back of a strong Christmas trading period, however were facing challenges with the uncertainty imposed by the Omicron variant.

"For a lot of businesses, their cash flow is a big concern. They have limited cash flow to see them over a period of months.

"There is uncertainty around increasing numbers. Will we get towards a lockdown and if so will cash flow support businesses through that period.

"Because they have been hit on a number of occasions, each time they try to rebuild that financial backbone they are knocked down again.

"We need that extended period of time without business interruptions for them to be able to rebuild and be sustainable through any of those periods we may face."

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