Tesco Still Cheaper Up North

Tesco in rip-off shock. Surprise, surprise. This morning’s Irish Times reports that Tesco, despite their much publicised Change for Good campaign, remain 18% dearer in the Republic of Ireland than across the border.

The survey carried out by the Consumer Choice magazine found that some items were up to 37% more expensive down south. In a stinging rebuke, the magazine suggested that Tesco had misled customers by stating that they were introducing “border prices” in the south. For their part, Tesco claim that the average price gap across thousands of good is 12%, and they put it down to different tax rates and the higher cost of doing business in the Republic.

I’m no fan of Tesco, but it’s clear that their Change for Good campaign stopped a massive heamorrhage of shoppers across the border. Even my Sainsbury’s-going sister ceased her exodus. But now that it’s all been exposed as a ruse by Tesco, will you be fleeing across the border? Or do you think it’s important to buy local and support Irish food? And will this latest relevation and all the attendant media sniping make a whit of difference to Tesco’s lucrative bottom line?