One in 10 Irish shoppers to buy alcohol in North

A STAGGERING 10% of Irish shopppers will be heading north to buy alcohol by the end of the year, it has emerged.

The Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland (ABFI) yesterday outlined new data from Nielsen Ireland which shows off-licence sales here have already plummeted by 7%, while stores in Northern Ireland are reporting a 30% increase in sales to the end of August.

The group also pointed to figures from TNS Worldpanel, which show some 250,000 households are now doing their grocery shopping in Northern Ireland; an increase of 25% on the figure of 200,000 recorded at the end of December 2008.

ABFI director Rosemary Garth yesterday called on the Government to address the high alcohol taxes which she claims are a significant factor to the price differences north and south.

“Both drinks industry and retail groups have estimated that cross-border shopping has cost the Irish exchequer €400 million in lost revenue this year.”

“This figure is set to increase in advance of Christmas as thousands more shoppers will understandably choose to shop in Northern Ireland, in particular should the rate of sterling continue its present decline against the euro. It is clear that the major price differential between alcohol is a key driver of this trade,” she said.

Ms Garth said the consequences to jobs and revenue of such large numbers heading north to buy alcohol, were “profound”.

“Our industry supports 90,000 jobs across bars, restaurants, manufacturing and supply. Many of these will be at risk as a direct consequence of cross-border shopping.

“The Government must begin to address this. They are losing millions of euro in VAT and excise revenues, with the British exchequer directly benefiting.

“Irish consumers face the highest alcohol taxes in Europe, and the Government must now urgently review our excise regime with a view to lowering these rates to stem the tide of trade to Northern Ireland and help this vital industry,” she said.

Meanwhile, The Outlet, a major shopping complex in Banbridge, Co Down, recorded its biggest surge of shoppers coming from the south over the bank holiday weekend.

Centre management at the at the complex, which is 15 minutes north of Newry and contains more than 60 retailers, stated more than one in two shoppers at the centre on Monday came from the south, accounting for up to 80% of sales.

Throughout September, 30% of footfall at the Banbridge scheme was either tourists or shoppers coming from the south.

“We expect to be busy on bank holidays and it is well documented that our euro shopper figures have risen significantly year on year. This year’s influx is encouraging and clearly the strength of the euro and the continued VAT reduction is working in our favour,” said manager Euan Forbes.