A row has broken out after supermarket giants were told not to sell non-essential goods during the firebreak lockdown in Wales.
The Federation for Small Businesses (FSB) had asked Welsh Government to protect retailers like clothes, electrical and hardware stores forced to close.
They feared shoppers would start to stock up on Christmas shopping with other stores missing out.
First Minister Mark Drakeford said yesterday it will be "made clear" to supermarkets they are only able to open parts of their business that sell "essential goods".
The exact list of what they can't sell has not been announced - although it is understood to include clothes and electrical goods.
While it was welcomed by the FSB the Welsh Retail Consortium (WRC) attacked the decision.
As well as protecting small firms the Welsh Government said the move was to minimise the risk of physical contact between people by restricting trips to the shops to buying essential items only.
Conservative MS Russell George had said it was "unfair" to force independent clothing and hardware retailers to close while similar goods were on sale in major supermarkets.
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But Sara Jones, head of the WRC, said: "Compelling retailers to stop selling certain items, without them being told clearly what is and what isn’t permitted to be sold, is ill-conceived and short-sighted.
"We hope ministers will rethink this particular part of their fire breaker plan.”
James Lowman, chief executive of Association of Convenience Stores, said: “Retailers must not be forced to stop making products available to customers just because ministers don’t think they’re essential.
"These regulations are badly thought out, providing little to no notice to retailers, and must be scrapped to avoid chaos in shops across Wales."
"This will also result in store layouts having to be reviewed that could undermine the safe flow of customers in store environments, the very antithesis of what your government is trying to achieve and what our members have strived to implement."
Edward Woodall, government relations director, added: "Stores will have to review thousands of products lines at incredibly short notice.
Sue Davies, head of Consumer Protection and Food Policy at Which?, said: "This announcement will be sure to cause confusion, particularly amongst the vulnerable and the shielding.
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"Our own research showed that almost half of those who described themselves as situationally vulnerable in Wales during the previous lockdown had difficulty accessing the food and groceries they needed.
"The Welsh government must act now to clarify the situation around what retailers can and cannot sell, and must urgently identify those most in need to give them the support to ensure that no one who is at risk struggles to access the food and other basics they need."
Welsh Government says there is no restriction on selling food and drink products under the guidance.
Aberconwy MS Janet Finch-Saunders, Chairman of the Cross Party Group on Small Shops, said: "I feel this is simply not feasible and the confusion about what is classed as an essential item is too subjective.
"What might be deemed essential to one person may differ to another’s.
"The lockdown in itself already disadvantages some businesses and this sudden announcement will simply be considered way over the top, ill thought out and will lead to a lot of chaos in these stores."
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But Ben Cottam, head of External Affairs at the FSB, said: "It is FSB’s view that if large supermarkets were able to continue selling non-essential items at a time when their small business competitors on the high street are forced to close, this will create an unacceptable advantage for those large retailers and particularly as we are now in the run up to Christmas."
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: "The fire-break is designed to reduce all physical contact between households to an absolute minimum in order to slow the spread of coronavirus and save lives.
"We have a small window in which to take this action and there are no easy choices. However, we fully recognise the impact the fire-break will have on businesses and are making a further £300 million available to support them through this difficult period.”