Business owners are being encouraged to work with neighbours to keep small towns 'alive'.

Napier City Business general manager Pip Thompson says Napier and Hastings CBDs become ghost towns after 5pm, when stores close.

She says 'to stay alive in 2025', trading hours need to no longer be confined to 9-to-5.

But Retail NZ Chief Executive Carolyn Young says a single store can't make the change alone.

"If you've got a number of stores around you that are open later, people will come because they know that they can call into that store at a time that suits them after work." 

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