Illawarra retailers are not sure what to expect when their doors reopen to vaccinated customers on Monday.
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Frolic Girls owner Kelly Kreilis said she is just going to open and see what happens.
"We are definitely opening but this is a hard one to navigate," she said.
"We honestly don't know what we are in for. We have just got to take every day as it comes.
"Predictions are that people are keen to get out and about and spend money. But then you hear people say they are not going anywhere for a while until they see how things unfold.
"Many of my customers have told me they are eager to come back into the shop so they can look, touch and feel our outfits again. Which I can understand because with us being a more expensive clothing store a lot of things need to be tried on."
Ms Kreilis said with events starting to open again, the countdown beginning for Christmas and more places to go people are ready to buy and feel good in something new. She is hoping for a good return to business. But with things like school formals being pushed back and uncertainty around large events, nothing is certain.
"I am predicting the first week back will be a bit on the slow side," she said.
"Many women will be out getting their hair and makeup done. But a lot of them will still have their children with them."
Ms Kreilis is going to reopen with three staff and see how things go. She said fashion outlets like hers have missed out on the whole winter season which is a big loss.
"We have been shut down for four months. We have lost all our winter sales. And what we have been able to sell we have sold below cost to try and get some money back," she said.
"What is left we had to box up. We have lost a whole season and the lockdown has devalued the stock we worked so hard to purchase after the last lockdown. For 16 weeks we have lost our capacity to buy our way out of this. We are a high fashion store that generally turns over its stock every three months.
"It is exceptionally challenging. All my winter stock has been packed up. I have been able to buy fresh new stock. Don't ask me how I have done it. It is scary because with the risk we have taken to fund our store again, we need to see a good return."
Kmart stores in the Illawarra reopen daily from 8am to 10pm on Monday.
Asked about unsold winter stock a spokesperson for the retailer said Kmart has a selection of clearance products that will differ from store to store.
"At Kmart, we are committed to providing a safe environment for every person who walks through our doors and we look forward to welcoming our NSW customers back. We will have plenty of products in our stores," the spokesperson said.
"Our NSW customers have embraced our click and collect and online services to ensure they still had access to our Kmart products while stores were closed and we anticipate they will continue to use these services in the lead up to Christmas."
The spokesperson said after lockdown Kmart knows people will be getting ready earlier for Christmas, so the stores already have a range of Christmas and Halloween products in stock, including decorations, gifts and summer clothing.
"Our stores will have reduced capacity limits which may mean that customers will be asked to safely queue before entering.
Customers can avoid the queues by booking a shop ahead of time. This isn't a requirement, but it will definitely save time and get customers into the store as quickly as possible."
BIG W stores will also welcome customers back on Monday from 9am to 5pm with COVID safe measures in place. Managing director Pejman Okhovat said teams are preparing stores with stocks of new clothes and Halloween and Christmas products.
"We know our customers are also looking forward to life returning to normal which includes getting back into the retail store environment," Mr Okhovat said.
When retail doors open on Monday all customers over the age of 16 must be fully vaccinated or have a medical exemption certificate as a condition of entry.
Businesses also need to maintain one person per 4sqm social distancing and there will be a limit to the number of customers shopping in store at a time.
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