NI is getting more expensive to shop in, is it worth it anymore?

darkman2

I detect that the flow of cross border shoppers from the South may be coming to an unforseen and abrupt end. Over recent weeks in particular talking to people I know generally they seem to have lost the appetite to go North to shop because a few of them even said to me it's not worth it anymore. i.e prices are going up there and coming down here and it is noticeable. Obviously this must be starting to have an effect.


What im wondering is what will happen to all the bubble shopping jobs created on he other side of the border? Things could turn bad for areas just North of the border with job losses and store closures.

Does anyone else sense that all is not well in retail in places like Newry anymore? Almost like denial that a bubble is about to burst? Much like us here before the property crash.

Or maybe it's just that people are bored going North....i dunno.

GSF

darkman2 wrote: »

I detect that the flow of cross border shoppers from the South may be coming to an unforseen and abrupt end. Over recent weeks in particular talking to people I know generally they seem to have lost the appetite to go North to shop because a few of them even said to me it's not worth it anymore. i.e prices are going up there and coming down here and it is noticeable. Obviously this must be starting to have an effect.


What im wondering is what will happen to all the bubble shopping jobs created on he other side of the border? Things could turn bad for areas just North of the border with job losses and store closures.

Does anyone else sense that all is not well in retail in places like Newry anymore? Almost like denial that a bubble is about to burst? Much like us here before the property crash.

Or maybe it's just that people are bored going North....i dunno.

Asda seems as busy as ever.

the fundamental drivers of higher prices in the republic haven't changed. Higher rents, higher service charges, higher minimum wage. there may be less disposable income to spend full stop & the price of petrol will reduce the viability of anybody from over 30-40 miles travelling north on a regular basis, but the northern shops still have a wide catchment anywhere from above a line from North Dublin to Sligo.

amacachi

There's no "bubble" up there, it's not like they've spent the last 3/4 years building a load of shopping centres.
In Newry there have often been empty shelves at times of the year, so it's not like they've made unsustainable investments.

In terms of alcohol they're still making as much from me as they ever did, I'm happy to spend an extra 10 minutes in the car to pay half as much for booze, ya just gotta know where to go.

Dannyboy83

If they get a conservative government, it could turn into an even bigger problem for the Republic.

Conservative government means pulling out the welfare rug from under NI, smashing state sector expenditure and becoming way more competitive.
Only thing is that the conservatives will probably have to raise taxes anyway in spite of all the reform.

Of course, a Conservative government potentially means huge SNP support in Scotland (which relies on the state sector for something like 60% of it's GDP) and the potential break up of the UK in the long run.

Mister men

Still make the journey up every month as i find the supermarkets down here are still way to expensive.

ZYX

Dannyboy83 wrote: »

If they get a conservative government, it could turn into an even bigger problem for the Republic.

Conservative government means pulling out the welfare rug from under NI, smashing state sector expenditure and becoming way more competitive.
Only thing is that the conservatives will probably have to raise taxes anyway in spite of all the reform.

Of course, a Conservative government potentially means huge SNP support in Scotland (which relies on the state sector for something like 60% of it's GDP) and the potential break up of the UK in the long run.

Conservative government means rising of VAT and weakness of sterling all of which makes NI less attractive to ROI shoppers.

Food prices are falling in both NI and ROI but are falling faster here. The increase in VAT in NI will really kick in soon as will the recent increases in alcohol in NI and the reduction here.

The main reason prices remain cheaper in NI is the strength of sterling over the Euro. There is a reasonable chance the Euro will strengthen over next 12 months. If so by next year you may see NI shoppers in Republic for a lot of their shopping (with the exception of alcohol and probably electronic goods)

murphaph

ZYX wrote: »

Conservative government means rising of VAT and weakness of sterling all of which makes NI less attractive to ROI shoppers.

Food prices are falling in both NI and ROI but are falling faster here. The increase in VAT in NI will really kick in soon as will the recent increases in alcohol in NI and the reduction here.

The main reason prices remain cheaper in NI is the strength of sterling over the Euro. There is a reasonable chance the Euro will strengthen over next 12 months. If so by next year you may see NI shoppers in Republic for a lot of their shopping (with the exception of alcohol and probably electronic goods)

You have it backwards, weak sterling means cheaper for us in NI, weak Euro means cheaper for them in RoI.

Permabear

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jprender

donegalfella wrote: »

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Likewise the comparison between Dundalk and Newry.

Victor

The drop in the value of Sterling means that products that were manufactured in Euro (Ireland and the rest of the Eurozone) are now more expensive in Sterling terms.

3D

Still cheaper up the north though the difference in prices is decreasing - however the choice of goods is much better and that will continue to be a huge incentive.

danman

donegalfella wrote: »

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I live in Inishowen, we always shop in Derry.
The price differance is still there.

Itmay be the case, that if you are traveling up from Dublin, it isn't worth it. But from my experiance, it definatly is.

Especially kids stuff. Clothes, toys, powder milk formula.
And for the adults, electrical, clothes, household items.

viztopia

i have heard that one of the shopping centres in Newry is now charging for parking when in the past they didnt. if so it seems like oppurtunism to me!!

Adrenalin

Yes i think the fuel prices definitely have something to do with it, also the novelty of it wearing off. people are realizing that is may not be as practical as they thought to go up once every 2 weeks or so to save maby 30 quid on general food shopping when they can walk to a super market and save that 30 on petrol.