Those in Level 2 who can't imagine what this must be like today for Aucklanders.  

Try to imagine 3 long months, 12 whole weeks - in fact we're now into week 13 - of absolutely no shops open. 

You can't buy your printer ink, new shoes for your growing child, you haven't been able to try on jeans, no new socks, no ability to just whip to the shops and grab birthday presents or any little things you suddenly realise you need. Nope, three long months of having to order that online, if it's available, and then wait the sometimes 3 weeks for the backlogged courier to deliver it. Some shops have offered click and collect, but again, on a schedule that suits them, not you. So the convenience is missing. But as of today, doors are open. 

Big question is- will Aucklanders go nuts? Actually, several questions. Will they go nuts initially and then stop? Because what retailers need is spending all the way through to Xmas to stop the haemorrhaging. So will Aucklanders head out in droves initially, then freak out when cases spike, and stop shopping? Or, will they take a wait and see approach, mindful of how many cases are in the community, a bit apprehensive, and decide to play a waiting game on shopping? 

Will they spend at the levels needed to dig retailers out of the hole? Rod Duke's predicting a greater rebound than last lockdown due to the timing of it being so close to Christmas. 

I was amazed last year when we came out of lockdown how much people spent - remember that? 

Art, cars, houses, boats, people went crazy. Retail will be hoping for that sort of frenzy again.   

My daughter has a list of the things she needs, having had a big growth spurt over the last 3 months, but I can't think of anything I actually need but I'll still go just because I can now. Also, I want to support my local shops. So how many will be sympathy shoppers like me? 

And how are the retailers going to handle it? Remember last time, some went crazy with the QR codes and the hand sanitiser and the one in, one out, policies, security on doors, queues - really making getting into their shop a full-on administrative exercise. 

Meanwhile other retailers had a more casual approach, shops full, no social distancing. 

Then there'll be the Karen's who complain if they feel it's not going right. The one person in the changing room who doesn't like someone trying something on too close to them and complains. So how it all unfolds will be interesting. 

I'm sure there'll be numbers done on shoppers and dollars spent in the first week but, what I'm interested in is, what happens in the weeks following that. Those will be the critical weeks for retailers to know how bumper the shopping season really is and whether it gets enough cash back in the tills to fix the damage done by 3 months shut.