However, Jody Raisbeck, owner of Jamaica Blue cafe said although she hadn't personally had any issues with customers not adhering to regulations, staff members had encountered a small number of incidents.

"There was one gentleman who was told to wear a mask, and he refused and walked off," she said.

"And they had one yesterday where staff gave them a mask."

Read more: Wollongong Council extend where they want you to wear a mask: libraries, volunteering

However, speaking to the Mercury on Monday, Ms Raisbeck said a key issue was there being "no one here" at the shopping centre, while her store at Stockland Shellharbour was busier.

"In my opinion, I think they're (some shoppers) going to Shellharbour as they don't have to wear a mask there," she said.

In the midst of the current COVID-19 outbreak, masks will be mandatory across Wollongong for people visiting supermarkets, retailers and shopping centres, as well as on public transport and other indoor settings.

While the mask mandate kicked off at midnight Saturday, enforcement didn't begin until Monday, with a $200 on-the-spot fine for non-compliance.

Elisha Searle, manager at Spendless Shoes in Wollongong Central said foot traffic in the mall on Monday had been "abysmal".

"Overall though, I would say everyone has been quite understanding of the situation," she said of the new mask rules.

"We haven't been able to enforce anything until now, with mandatory masks and everything.

"Go back a few weeks, if we were to say (to people to) sanitize and everything else on the way in, a lot of people would be like, 'oh, I can't be bothered to deal with that'.

"Whereas today we're talking about QR codes, sanitzing and masks, and everybody has been quite happy with doing what's asked."

Ms Searle said wearing a mask was "inconvenient" when trying to talk to customers, but she understood why it was necessary.

"You want to make sure there's a smile on your face and you're greeting people, and sometimes (when) greeting them, you greet them with a smile, and you can't really do that," she said.

"But it's definitely better to be safe than sorry."

Barry Markwick, owner of Total Expressions said he'd been busier than expected on Monday, but hadn't experienced any problems with customers not wanting to wear a mask.

"Everyone seems quite relaxed about it," he said.

However, he anticipated there could be backlash from the occasional customer who didn't want to mask up.

"I have thought a little bit about how I would approach it," he said.

"This morning I went to pick up the coffee, I had my mask on and there was a young lady who walked in past me and stood at the counter, no mask on.

"I stepped back outside and said, 'do you know the rules?' She said, 'oh, I thought that only applied to supermarkets'."

Isabella Gallant, an employee at QBD Books said as far as she was aware customers were being compliant, with many "happy" to do so.

"And if anything, it makes me personally feel safer, because it was really close to home only being next door, and being in the centre," she said.

"So I think it's a good thing."

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