Northern Ireland shops are to open on June 12, Economy Minister Diane Dodds has said.
She confirmed that all non-essential goods retailers have government permission to open the doors to the public.
Mrs Dodds today described the decision as a major step forward during a visit to Debenhams in Belfast city centre.
She said: “I am very pleased to be able to confirm that all non-essential goods retailers in Northern Ireland can re-open from Friday 12 June, subject to them adhering to the necessary safety measures and no increase in the spread of the virus.
"This was considered at this morning’s Executive meeting and it was agreed that as long as retailers can adhere to the necessary safety measures, and there is no increase in the spread of the virus by Thursday, then these shops can re-open.
“The pandemic has had a devastating impact on the local economy. The recovery has already begun and it is time now for the pace to accelerate. The re-opening of all goods retail outlets will be a huge part of this.
“The safety of staff and customers is of course paramount. All retailers must be able to implement measures that minimise the risk to their staff and to the people who visit their stores.
"We will be co-existing with this virus for some time to come so it is vital that we continue to adhere to guidance to work and live safely.
"Debenhams is an excellent example of how retailers can make this work and adapt to this new normal.
"The re-opening of our local shopping sector is a significant step forward in the Executive’s pathway to recovery.
"I and my Executive colleagues remain committed to moving forward in the recovery while at all times keeping the health, wellbeing and safety of people at the centre and being transparent in our approach.
“This is a major step forward today but there is more work to do and I will continue to work to progress the recovery.”
Glyn Roberts, Retail NI Chief Executive, said: “We strongly welcome this decision to reopen our retail sector this Friday - it is a major step forward for rebooting our economy as a whole. There is a long and hard road ahead for our local economy, but I have no doubt our retail sector will be at the cutting edge of this recovery.
“While we have made good progress on reopening the retail sector, we need to ensure that our high streets are safe and compliant with medical guidance in order to fully reassure consumers.
“Retail NI has written to the Executive to ask Ministers to establish a High Street and Retail Advisory Group to ensure the Executive can move forward with the safe reopening of our town and city centres alongside this retail reopening plan.
“This will no doubt involve the repurposing and reimaging of public spaces to accommodate queuing customers as well as significant changes to public transport”
“We also need a Northern Ireland Reopening High Streets Safety fund to assist Local Councils and traders to implement plans to reopen town and city centres."
And Belfast Chamber also welcomed the announcement.
Simon Hamilton, Belfast Chamber Chief Executive, said: "This is really great news for all of those retailers in Belfast and right across our region who have been closed now for close to three months.
"Belfast Chamber has been pressing the Executive to set a date for the safe reopening of the sector, so we wholeheartedly welcome today’s announcement as another huge step in the right direction and thank the Executive for listening to business.
"Many retailers have been working hard over the last number of weeks to get their stores ready to reopen in ways that ensure staff and customer safety and it is great that many more will be able to implement those plans and get going again.
Retail as a sector has been one of the hardest hit by the restrictions introduced to stop the spread of COVID-19.
"They closed down immediately when required and many have had no income whilst costs have continued. Reopening will allow more retailers to start trading again after what has been a dark and difficult period for the sector”.
