Can you still bag a bargain at the airport?
Cheapflights.co.uk compares the prices† on offer at the UK’s biggest airports with those on the high street and the web.
The Easter holiday break is just around the corner and as holidaymakers pack their bags to head for their first dose of sun for the year, many will be tempted by the plethora of goodies in duty free stores nationwide. Duty free by definition implies a saving for the consumer, but with online and high-street stores offering staggering discounts to win customers over, Cheapflights.co.uk investigates whether there are still savings to be had once you’ve made it through security. Comparing the prices from 9 of the UK’s biggest airports against 12 of the nation’s biggest retailers, Cheapflights.co.uk uncovers the Duty Free winners and losers….
THE VERDICT: FLY TO THE LOCAL STORE!
Fragrances
Fragrances are a foundation of the airport retail offering with World Duty Free (WDF), the UK’s leading duty free retailer, offering close to 500 different fragrances. Reduced prices and giant bottles have made fragrances a popular duty free buy, with many passengers choosing to stock up on year-long supplies of their favourite perfumes and aftershaves. For those with a weakness for impulse buying, the temptation is only compounded by a nose-enticing crawl through duty free!
We took a look at two of the UK’s most popular fragrances, CK One by Calvin Klein (200ml) and Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male Eau de Toilette (75ml). The products were on sale in duty free for £36.30 and £31.05 respectively. A quick search across high street and online retailers establishes that both fragrances are available at a better price outside of the airport. CK One can currently be purchased at Boots for £24.99, while Le Male is available on Amazon.co.uk for £26.11. While World Duty Free prices are competitive, better value can be found elsewhere and it is certainly worth checking before travelling.
Spirits
Many travellers choose to load up on their favourite tipple in duty free. With an abundance of fine and often exclusive spirits available, there is plenty to win over passengers and tempt them into parting with their hard-earned cash. In the UK, outlets run by World Duty Free even include a ‘World of Whiskies’ concession to promote some of the UK’s finest liquid exports.
Like fragrances however, there is no guarantee that savings on duty will be passed onto the customers. British supermarkets, perhaps in determination to outbid rivals’, often offer eye-watering savings on commodities like alcohol. A 1-litre bottle of Gordon’s Gin, the world’s bestselling London Dry Gin retails in World Duty Free for £17.99; Supermarket Morrison’s however will sell you a bottle for £17.00. The saving may be small, but with a 1-litre bottle of spirits a large and rather awkward addition to hand or hold luggage, passengers may find it more convenient to do their booze shopping back home!
Confectionery
Chocolate is the go-to item for travellers looking for a last-minute holiday gift for loved ones, not to mention those who feel obliged to offer their colleagues a culinary insight into their travels. Duty free shelves are stacked with staple favourites for UK passengers including Lindt and Milka; not to mention the outstanding favourite, the giant Toblerone.
Not eating a Toblerone requires the impartiality of the bar’s Swiss homeland – but for those able to resist an airport purchase, big savings can be made on the high street. World Duty Free advertise a 400g Toblerone bar for £6.00 which puts it at the top of pyramid as far as price comparisons go. With Toblerone a fundamental addition to the confectionery aisle of supermarkets and department stores, retailers including Waitrose, Debenhams and Morrisons all price the same size bar below £4.00!
VERDICT: TAKE THESE BEFORE YOU TAKE OFF!
Cigarettes
As a consequence of the taxes placed on them, cigarettes remain the one item that consumers are guaranteed sure to make a duty-free saving on. Our research showed that airport savings amount to as much as 50% on the high street equivalent, with a 200-carton of Marlboro Lights selling at airports for £42.00. At high street stores such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Boots you can expect to pay more than £44.00 for their boxes of 100 cigarettes meaning you can pay half as much per cigarette by buying duty free.
If you are planning to buy smokes, be sure to follow the rules! Quotas in the UK on the import of cigarettes are extremely strict and consumers can expect heavy fines should they exceed the limits and fail to declare their goods. Those travelling from outside of the EU are limited to 200 cigarettes while within the EU this figure stands at 800. In 2012, two air hostesses narrowly avoided jail time for smuggling 14,800 cigarettes back into the UK having arrived on a flight from the Canary Islands.
Sunglasses:
An essential summer holiday accessory as well as a precautionary measure against the sizzling sun, sunglasses are a vital part of any passenger’s luggage. They are also an item many passengers are guilty of forgetting to pack.
The iconic Ray-Ban range remains the in vogue sun-specs of choice for fashionistas internationally. We took a look at the brand’s Wayfarer range. Fortunately for forgetful souls, a departure lounge purchase may prove to be a shrewd move with the glasses retailing in duty frees stores for as little as £104.15. If we compare this to the high street where prices can be as high as £170.00, the lowest price offering came from department stores Debenhams and John Lewis at £125.00. In the market for sunnies, we say collect them when you travel!
VERDICT: UNDECIDED…
Electronics
Duty free electronics and entertainment stores have faced a reshuffle in recent years with the digital revolution reducing their product offering to devices such as cameras, smartphones, headphones and tablets. Dixons Carphone appears one retailer switched onto the change with the company’s Dixons Travel brand now present in 12 of the United Kingdom’s major airports.
This year, three of the UK’s most popular consumer electronic offerings include iPads, Beats by Dr Dre and the Go Pro Camera. The Go Pro Hero 4, the latest in the successful product line is available in duty free for £274.00 with UK retailer Currys (part of the same group) closest to matching that price at £279.00. The price is sure to delight adventurers hoping to capture those priceless travel moments.
For those hoping to zone out en route to their destinations, noise-cancelling headphones from Beats by Dr Dre may be a useful addition to their list of travel accessories. The brand’s fashionable Studio 2.0 headphones are available for £149.92 in duty free, with high-street stores including Argos, Currys and Selfridges all offering the product for £169.00.
Apple’s successful iPad series continues with the 3rd generation iPad Mini, although marketed online for £299.00, the Dixons Travel store at Gatwick confirmed to us that the mini is available in store for £270.00, this beats off competition from Amazon.co.uk which offers the product for £285.99.
Cheapflights.co.uk spokesperson Oonagh Shiel said: “Once through security, Duty Free is the must-go-to for leisure and business passengers to stock up on luxury consumables and electronics – or simply to kill some time ahead of your flight.
“Duty-free has an enduring reputation as the cheapest, last-chance place to shop before you board your flight – but, of course, retailers also know that they have a captive audience; and these days it seems that the ‘cut-price’ tag is not one that airport retailers always live up to; so don’t be fooled. It’s worth remembering that with cut-throat competition between supermarkets, that bottle of gin or giant Toblerone could well be cheaper on your local high street – so don’t just buy that last-minute item because it’s there!
“But it’s great to see that, for some items at least, there are still savings to be made. There is no obligation for concessions to pass on savings in duty-free, but without discounts, UK consumers are a shrewd enough bunch to look elsewhere. As with flights, and holidays, we suggest doing your research in advance and comparing the options – particularly if you don’t need that item for your trip.
“To make the best of the savings on offer, we suggest air travellers check before they fly. The majority of prices are available online, and even if they are not, a call through to particular stores may even give you access to special deals and discounts. After all, you want to have as much money in your pocket for when you get to your destination. Shop around to be sure you’re getting the best deal by buying duty free.”
-Ends-
†Duty free prices quoted are for travel outside of the EU. Discounts on only some products are available for travel within the EU.
*Airport Duty Free Stores assessed: London Heathrow, London Gatwick, London Stansted, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast, Cardiff
Notes to Editors:
Pricing analysis based on figures from retailers valid on Wednesday 18th March 2015.
High Street Retailers assessed: Boots, Asda, Sainsburys, Tesco, Argos, John Lewis, Debenhams, Currys, Amazon.co.uk Morrisons, Selfridges, House of Fraser
For further press information please contact:
Nick Wheywell / Stuart Fyfe / Sakhita Sharma / Kevan Barber
E: [email protected]
T: +44 (0)20 440 8930
About Cheapflights.co.uk, a part of the Momondo Group: “Let’s Open our World.”
Momondo Group is an online travel media and technology company that is driven by the belief that an open world is a better world. The group now serves travel search and inspiration to over 17.5 million visitors a month – plus 7 million travel newsletter subscribers – via its Cheapflights (http://www.cheapflights.co.uk/) and momondo (www.momondo.com) brands.
Skygate began the sourcing of complex air-travel data in 1992, whilst Cheapflights pioneered the online comparison of flight deals for users in 1996 and momondo launched meta-search in the Nordic countries from 2006.
The Group has offices in London, Copenhagen and Boston, with a consumer base across more than 30 core international markets and engaged travellers, explorers and holiday-makers all over the world.
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