Ireland has left Level Five and entered modified Level Three restrictions.
The Government still recommends that people try to shop at quieter times of the day and people are still asked to keep two metres away from others as much as possible and to wear a mask.
They are also asking family, friends and volunteers to collect food and medicines for elderly and vulnerable shoppers.
Many of the supermarkets have extended their opening hours for December.
Here is a breakdown of what changes we can expect in each store.
Non-essential items
This is the biggest difference we will see from December 1. When the Level Five lockdown began, all retailers were forced to only sell essential items such as food and drink.
This caused the loss of the famous Lidl "middle aisle", as well as big changes in other stores, Dublin Live reports.
However with Ireland expected to return to Level Three and non-essential items allowed to be put on sale again, the "middle aisle" will be back.
Opening Hours
We are going to see some changes to opening hours next month, largely in the run up to Christmas.
Here are the expected opening hours in each shop:
Dunnes Stores
Nationwide, Dunnes Stores will open from 8am on Tuesday and shut at 7pm.
Some stores are staying open until 10pm.
To see when your local Dunnes Stores is closing each day, look for it on the store locator here.
Lidl
One of Ireland's most popular stores, Lidl will be opening from 7am each day from December 17 right up until Christmas Eve.
However a warning has been issued for customers to "demonstrate compassion" when dealing with hardworking staff, and to adhere to Covid-19 guidelines at all times.
A spokeswoman told the Irish Mirror: "Lidl will be facilitating an extended trading period in the run up to Christmas with stores opening from 7am each day starting 17th until 24th December.
"Shoppers can check for the quietest times to shop on What’s App here: lidl.ie/quiet. Although it’s easy to get swept away in the excitement of Christmas, we respectfully ask that all customers adhere to the current Government guidelines when shopping in store over the busy holiday period, and demonstrate compassion when interacting with our hardworking store teams who have been working tirelessly to bring our high quality Christmas range to our 167 stores nationwide.
"We would like to assure our customers that as an essential retailer, Lidl has a robust and agile supply chain in place to ensure that communities across Ireland will have access to the food and supplies they need over the Christmas season.
Aldi
Aldi is another store that will be opening for longer to allow shoppers to get all their Christmas essentials.
They will be opening as early as 8am and closing as late as 11pm on certain days on Christmas week.
A full breakdown of their opening times can be found below.
Niall O’Connor, Aldi Group Managing Director, said: “Providing a safe environment for our customers and staff is our number one priority. We are extending our opening hours this Christmas to make sure more shoppers can avail of our unbeatable range and prices and safely pick up everything they need.
“The vast majority of our stores will be open from 8am-11pm during Christmas week to spread the demand and allow customers shop when suits them best."
Aldi Extended Christmas Opening Hours:
Friday 18th: 9am to 10pm
Saturday 19th: 9am to 10pm
Sunday 20th: 8am to 10pm
Monday 21st: 8am to 11pm
Tuesday 22nd: 8am to 11pm
Wednesday 23rd: 8am to 11pm
Thursday 24th: 8am to 7pm
Supervalu
While Supervalu will also be operating a longer opening hours timetable over the festive season, this will depend on the individual store.
Shoppers are being asked to check with their local store for the exact times.
A spokesman said: "SuperValu will operate on extended opening hours in the run up to Christmas.
"As SuperValu stores are independently owned and operated customers should check with their local store for exact times."
Tesco
Tesco is another retailer that will see varying opening hours in different shops across the country as Christmas approaches.
For the latest updates on the hours in your local store, check out Tesco's store locator HERE.
Arnotts
Arnotts doors will start at 10am on Tuesday and shut at 9pm, with the same opening and closing times on weekdays and Saturdays.
On Sundays, Arnotts opens at 11am and shuts at 9pm.
Penneys
Here is a full breakdown of the opening hours of every store in Ireland:
Throughout December, Penneys stores will trade to a minimum of 9.00pm on weekdays.
- Town Centre (main streets) stores will trade until 9.00pm
Stores: Dun Laoghaire, Wexford, Sligo, Drogheda, Newbridge, Clonmel, Ballina, Killarney
- Town Shopping Centre stores will trade until 9.00pm:
Stores: Navan, Mullingar, Portlaoise, Ennis, Letterkenny, Galway Shopping Centre, Kilkenny, Santry, Artane, Tralee, Castlebar, Longford, Athlone, Dundalk, Carlow
Until 9.30pm: Limerick- Dooradoyle
- Major Shopping Centres will trade until 10pm
Stores: Galway-Eyre Square, Swords, Cork-Wilton, Dundrum, Blanchardstown, Liffey Valley, Nutgrove
- City-Centre Stores , the majority will trade until 10.00pm
Stores: Dublin - Mary Street, Limerick- O’Connell Street, Waterford, Cork– Patrick Street, Dublin - O’Connell Street
- 24-hour trading: Penneys will open in Dundrum Town Centre and Blanchardstown Centre from 7.00am on Wednesday, 2 December and trade right through until closing time on Thursday, 3 December.
Brown Thomas
Brown Thomas and their department stores will open from 10am to 9pm on weekdays from Tuesday, Saturdays 9am to 8pm.
On Sundays, they will open at 11am and close at 7pm.
