Article from BTNews 8 JULY 2019
Duty-free prices under fire again
Passengers who shop at airport duty-free outlets could be spending up to 150% more than if they bought from online retailers, according to new research from personal finance comparison site finder.com
Duty-free products were found to be on average 17% more expensive than those from online distributors, the study found, indicating airports aren’t the best places to find bargains for certain products.
Chocolate and sweets were found to be the most overpriced category, with goods being more than two thirds (67%) more expensive than if they had been bought from typical shopping outlets.
A bag of peanut M&Ms which would normally cost £2, or US$2.50, typically cost £3.75 at an airport. The product with the largest difference was a 300g bar of Cadbury Oreo chocolate – typical cost £2, but 150% more at an airport at £5.
The website’s UK CEO, Jon Ostler, said: “Our research found the average duty-free price for an item was 17% more than the cheapest available figures online, which included at least three products that were more than double that of the online price.
“Certain categories were worse than others, with every item we checked in the Food, Sweets and Toys category costing more at the airport.”
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