Shopping in the north is not always worth it

Irish consumers are expected to flock to Northern Ireland once again to do their Christmas shopping because of the expected VAT increase in the budget.

But with the exchange rate and the cost of petrol, it is advisable to do your homework before you make the journey over the border.

Consumer expert Tina Leonard has been checking prices on a host of products for Pat Kenny including electronics, toys, clothes, food and alcohol, and you may be surprised at what she discovered.

Travel costs

The VAT rise will increase petrol costs too so average cost per litre of €1.47/€1.48 will rise to €1.50/€1.51 per litre. So a tank of petrol could cost seven or eight euro more.

If you want to get the train, the only direct service to Belfast is from Dublin and costs €40 return for an adult ticket and €20 return for a child.

Price comparison

In carrying out the price comparison I found savings on the vast majority of products surveyed. However, the savings are small so will only be worth your while if you are buying a lot, in order to offset fuel/train/bus costs.

It is interesting to note that at the moment there are sales on and special offers available in a vast number of retailers, from grocery to electronics and clothes. (Even in early December BTs, Arnotts and Clerys all had a 20% off weekend for example).

So, as we are seeing retailers slash prices to encourage us to buy more (and ‘save’ their Christmas), any cost differences with Northen Irish prices will be reduced. Plus, many NI stores also have offers and price cuts.

As you can see from this table - certain items are actually more expensive in the north including an Apple iPad which will be on many Christmas lists this year.

In other cases the saving isn't significant enough on its own to warrant the petrol or train fare.

Again, the savings are not vast - with the greatest difference on the children's bike.

The savings on clothes - both designed are high street are most significant.

What about groceries and alcohol?

Typically this is what attracts most cross-border shopping.

While the National Consumer Agency noted that grocery prices fell here by 14% between January 2009 and July 2010, this year there has seen inflation of 5% - 6% on grocery products.

While there are more special offers that before in supermarkets here, there seem to be an even greater number in Northern Irish supermarkets, with ASDA in particular where many items are ‘2 for the price fo one’ or ‘3 for..’ offers.

But supermarkets here are currently running promotions on many festive purchases. This is true in all the multiples and there are already great prices in the disocunters, so bear that in mind before you consider heading North. For example all supermarkets have offers on wine, beer, spirits, chocolates, biscuits, crisps, puddings and cakes.

So what’s the difference in price? When it comes to Christmas / party purchases no difference at all.

Nestle Quality Street tin (1kg)

Republic of Ireland:  €5 in Tesco, €6 in SuperValu
Northern Ireland: €5.83 (£5) Tesco, €9.32 (£8) Sainsbury’s for 1.6kg.

Cadburys Santa Selection Box Medium 170g

ROI: €1.97 in Tesco 
NI: €1.73 (£1.49) in Sainsbury’s

Jameson Whiskey 70cl

ROI: €17 in SuperValu, €20 in Tesco
NI: €17.95 (£15.41) in Sainsbury’s, €22.44 (£19.27) in Tesco NI.

Absolut Vodka, 1lt

ROI: €20 in Dunnes and Tesco 
NI: €28.41 (£24.40) in Sainsbury’s, €23.29 (£20) in Tesco NI.

Wine

All the supermarkets here have specials on at the moment: 25% off 6 bottles or more in Tesco; half price in SuperValu (€5.99/€6.99/€7); €3.99 in Aldi.

In the North you can easily get a range of wine from £3.20 (€3.73) upwards in Tesco, £4.50 (€5.24) upwards (and 3 for £10/€11.65) in ASDA; from £3.20 (€3.73) in Sainsbury’s. These are not special offers.

Beer

More difficult to compare as the volume packs are different (i.e 24 pack here, 20 pack or 12 pack there on different sized cans/bottles).

For example: 24 x 500ml Guinness costs €24 in SuperValu or €24 in Tesco. In NI this size pack isn’t available but 12 x 440ml Guinness costs £11.72 (€13.65) in Tesco, Sainsbury’s and ASDA. So it’s cheaper here.

Budweiser 24 x 500ml costs €25 in Tesco and €27 in SuperValu. In NI you can buy 20 x 300ml cans for £12 (€13.97) in Tesco, 2 for £20 (€23.28) in Sainsbury’s or 24 x 300ml cans in ASDA for £12.75 (€14.84). So ASDA’s special offer is the best deal.

Some general grocery products:

Broccoli €1.79 Tesco / 18p (21c) in ASDA

Cucumber €0.79 in Tesco / 80p (93c) in Tesco NI, ASDA and Sainsbury’s

Parsnips 3 for 39c in Aldi or €0.79 in Tesco / 21p (24c) in Tesco NI

Colgate Maxfresh toothpaste, 100ml, €1.49 in Tesco / £1 (€1.16) in Tesco NI, 2 for £3 (€3.49) in ASDA, £2 (€2.33) in Sainsbury’s

Palmolive Liquid handwash, 300ml, €1.02 in Tesco / 86p (€1) in Tesco NI, 3 for £3 (€3.49) in ASDA

All all, the message is think before you take the trip up to the north.

Due to sales and special offers in a host of areas, prices differences and savings can be small.

When it comes to Christmas food/drink the special offers widely available here largely negate any price difference.

However on general ‘non-special offer’ supermarket items many products will still be cheaper in NI but not compared to every store, and price differences should not be as great as they were pre-2009.

For example, one woman I spoke to who lives in Co Louth and usually shops in Sainsbury’s in Newry, recently switched to Aldi in Drogheda to try it out. Her opinion was that prices in the two were comparable but that Sainsbury’s was cheaper than Dunnes or Tesco.

When it comes to clothes, there still are savings to be made on buying from the same retailer in the North.