Compulsory click and collect will be a thing of the past, hardware stores and nurseries are coming out of hibernation in time for the last rites of spring, and as of last Friday "Ken Behrens" can even get a lockdown tattoo.

Negotiating the lockdown maze while federal income support was being cut and chaotic border arrangements created anomalies and confusion has been a tough road for ACT business owners and the tens of thousands who work in the shops that give our city centres their vibrancy and character.

Unlike most white collar employees, retail workers, whose numbers include a disproportionate number of young people and women, had to be stood down almost en masse.

That's caused a lot of stress, depression, anxiety and economic hardship.

That said, this has not only been a hard time for business owners and employees. The entire community has missed being able to engage in some well-earned "retail therapy" at their favourite stores and shopping centres for almost two months.

A quick rummage through the special buys at Aldi is a poor substitute for being able to browse the shelves at your local bookstore, to check out that next "must have" power tool, to visit the jewellers, to try out some perfumes, or to get the best advice on what shoes and handbag go best with that drop-dead outfit from your favourite boutique.

Online shopping is just not quite the same. Come Friday hundreds of thousands of us are going to have a fresh new appreciation of some of life's most simple pleasures.

And it's not just about "me time". After close on 70 days with effectively zero income Canberra's commercial sector is in dire straits. Support for businesses was significantly less than during last year's lockdown and the bills didn't stop coming in just because the doors were locked.

Take the case of Joe's Boots owner Steve Ovcar who has just had to take what he called the longest "holiday" he has had in 42 years.

Although he was going in to the shop during the lockdown the absence of customers meant income dried up to a trickle and that he was lucky if he sold a pair of boot laces.

"We've got to pay rent," he said.

While the decision to reopen was made possible by Monday's announcement that the ACT had reached the milestone of 80 per cent of people above the age of 12 being double-vaxxed there is a downside.

Income support payments have now been significantly reduced and will be phased out over the next fortnight. That is bad for some businesses which would like to stay closed for a little longer in order to ensure the highest level of safety for their staff and customers.

One of these is the Sisters Inked and Freestyle Tattoo Studio. Management and staff fear the ACT government's decision not to mandate vaccine passports puts them at risk.

"We've all had conversations around 'Do I come back sooner than I feel comfortable coming back because I need to get paid or not'?" studio manager Melissa Bottega said.

This is a genuine concern given the artists have to work in very close proximity to possibly unvaccinated clients.

It's also a timely reminder that many of us will be feeling psychologically fragile after what has been a surreal and disorienting experience. Medical experts have said agoraphobia-like symptoms are possible and that if people don't feel comfortable then they shouldn't feel forced to pick up where they left off straight away.

The opening up, just like the lockdown itself, is something best taken one day at a time.

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