Shoppers here are still being hit by retail rip-off
Shoppers head North: consumers here voted with their feet and dashed up to the North to stock up around 25pc. on their shopping, largely ignoring appeals to shop locally.
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Tuesday January 27 2009
EVER since sterling began to weaken against the euro last year, consumers have been complaining loudly about having to pay so much more for goods in the Republic than in Northern Ireland.
The last few months of 2008 saw the euro rise to record highs against sterling -- almost to parity at one point.
In response, consumers here voted with their feet and dashed up to the North to stock up on their shopping.
Despite the competition from shops in Northern Ireland, there are few signs that retailers who operate on both sides of the border are addressing one of the most serious issues that recent movements in the euro/sterling exchange has highlighted: why are the euro prices charged here by such retailers so much higher than in Britain?
In July last year, the National Consumer Agency (NCA) published a price comparison survey that showed substantial price differences between North and South.
In some cases, Irish consumers were being charged up to 60pc more for goods sold here by British retailers.
Although the NCA has not yet done a follow-up survey, a spokeswoman for the agency told the Irish Independent that anecdotal evidence suggests big differences in prices exist.
While there have been many complaints, British retailers defend themselves by claiming that it costs more to do business in Ireland than in the UK.
The NCA's 2008 survey prompted the Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan, to commission a study into the comparative cost of operating retail businesses in Ireland, Northern Ireland, Britain and the Netherlands, which was published just before Christmas. The study, which was led by Forfas, found that operating costs in Dublin were on average 25pc higher than Belfast.
But given that operating costs accounted for only 20pc to 25pc of the total cost of a retail good, such costs could only justify a 5pc to 6pc difference in the retail price of the same item between Dublin and Belfast.
The NCA advises consumers to be vigilant and shop around.
But there is now a website where you can more accurately compare the price differences between the same goods.
The website, www.dualpricing.ie, has a calculator into which you tap in the displayed price of the item in euro and sterling.
The calculator deducts the appropriate Irish and British VAT rates and converts the UK price into sterling based on current ECB rates, and then presents the actual euro difference in prices in percentage terms.
For example, a sweater with a euro price of €29.99 but also showing the UK price £19.99 is calculated by the website to have a mark-up of 24pc.
The website's creator, Jamie Lawrence, hopes to develop the site to make to make easier to use from a mobile phone, so consumers can make price comparisons while they are actually standing in the shops.
- John Cradden
