South Australian shoppers divided over Easter Monday trading exemption

Trading exemptions allowing shopping centres beyond Adelaide to open up on Easter Monday have been a fixture for the past four years.

But the state government has asked shoppers not to get used to it, as it argued the exemption hurts smaller local businesses up against the bigger players.

Customers in suburbs such as Marion were able to stock up and spend up under the relaxed hours, as retailers chose whether it was worth it to open their doors.

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"We need to have a balance, so I wouldn't want to see all of Easter open, but I think with the Easter Monday people get ready to go back to work tomorrow," one shopper said.

"Having a young family myself, yes I'd like to have a break," worker Theoni Stathopoulos said.

"It doesn't bother me, but some people yes it does bother some, but I didn't have much to do so I came to work," worker Lily De Palma said.

The state opposition has weighed in and said its approach, while in power, was popular and described a return to previous trading hours as 'archaic'.

"As a consumer, it's great to go shopping on a Monday on a public holiday, but I can understand as a person who's behind the desk not so great might want to be with their family," one shopper said.

One change that Labor is committed to is increasing Sunday trading hours from 11am openings to 9am.