Lazy Sunday Lifestyle owner Kate Griffiths is one of a wave of retailers in the city to voluntarily and temporarily close her physical shopfront at Dubbo amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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The small businesswoman said it was a "hard decision" to pull down the shutters but one she considered best for everyone, a feeling she reported was shared by a number of her peers.
"We all roughly within a couple of days closed and we all sort of came to the same conclusion that it's really not worth the health risks for ourselves, our families and our customers," Ms Griffiths said.
By Thursday more than 20 retailers across the city had temporarily closed their physical premises and were instead focusing on their online stores.
Among them was the high-profile Myer, which shut its doors across the country, and other chains.
Some locally-owned stores have also stopped operating out of bricks and mortar and are putting their energies into their e-commerce sites.
Ms Griffiths is still working every day to keep her three-year-old business going.
"I've offered local free drop-off around town to minimise contact as well as normal online delivery," she said.
"It's definitely nowhere near the same and the volume of sales is nowhere near the same as a physical store.
"But I'm just taking every opportunity to really get the online 100 per cent right and getting all the new stock up online as soon as possible.
"And trying to think of different creative ways to engage people through social media and the online website."
New coronavirus isolation rules came into effect on Monday in NSW, banning gatherings of any more than two people, apart from immediate family, as well as all non-essential activities.
I suppose it's a completely different feeling downtown than it normally is and it's very quiet, which I am glad to see that people are following the rules.
- Retailer Kate Griffiths
Ms Griffiths reports signs people are heeding the authorities' urgings to stay at home.
"When I was [in the city's centre] on Monday, it was very quiet," she said.
"Police are walking the street. It's very eerie.
"I suppose it's a completely different feeling downtown than it normally is and it's very quiet, which I am glad to see that people are following the rules."
As businesses across multiple sectors battle to carry on, the boutique owner encouraged people to "just keep shopping local where possible".
"There's so many great delivery options, whether it be a local cafe, restaurant, shop, if you are in a position to continue to shop locally, please do, so we can all reopen on the other side," Ms Griffiths said.
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