Irish consumers

david_the_great

I cant tell you how many times i have heard someone say " why shouldn't we shop up north, why should we support a government that has failed us" etc etc. do people not realise that it is less the governement they are supporting and the retail workers they are supporting when it comes to cross border shopping. the retail sector wouldn't have gone soo badly if people weren't shopping up north all the time. and this comes from a nation who have previously used terms such as soupers etc. if people carried on shopping in the republic then the retail sector wouldn't be half as bad!

david_the_great

david_the_great wrote: »

I cant tell you how many times i have heard someone say " why shouldn't we shop up north, why should we support a government that has failed us" etc etc. do people not realise that it is less the governement they are supporting and the retail workers they are supporting when it comes to cross border shopping. the retail sector wouldn't have gone soo badly if people weren't shopping up north all the time. and this comes from a nation who have previously used terms such as soupers etc. if people carried on shopping in the republic then the retail sector wouldn't be half as bad!

Sure it would - after the people continuing shopping in the republic have no more money because they've spent it on the extravagant prices down here.

david_the_great

even that would help a little, i know it would be affected further in the long run but we wouldn't be in as much of an economic state in the short run and prides will go down eventually to help the consumer

DrumSteve

Irish People will not accept high prices.

Irish People will not accept lower wages.

Therein lies the quandry.

People dont want to pay too much but as we have some of the highest wage rates in europe, nay the world, the prices in most cases are proportionate.

i know a lot of things may seem like a rip-off but look into the backround behind the pricing. while there are rip-off merchants out there we cannot be absolved of all the blame.

Mr.Micro

People cannot afford to pay rip off prices. Its instinct that we seek out better rates, albeit across the border. Only a fool throws away money. Retailers should get real or go out of business.

DrumSteve

Mr.Micro wrote: »

People cannot afford to pay rip off prices. Its instinct that we seek out better rates, albeit across the border. Only a fool throws away money. Retailers should get real or go out of business.

okay... then should we lower wages to accomodate and help them?

Mr.Micro

DrumSteve wrote: »

okay... then should we lower wages to accomodate and help them?

No how about compete for a change and maybe for once the Irish consumer might get a deal.

DrumSteve

okay but you do realise that costs are pretty high in this country? these is only so much dropping of prices they can do before they get into below cost selling. wages and general public apathy to high prices are the primary reasons why prices are high. include Vat, electricity, so on and so forth...

mikemac

I remember VAT was reduced to 20%. It was reckoned that consumers saw no benefits at all so they changed it back to 21%.

Running a business in Ireland is difficult and there are many costs.
But lowering minimum wage is but one factor, rent is dropping and electricity needs to be less expensive. Council rates too, I can't list all the many costs that exist

I'd be wary of cutting minimum wage. I understand why people are calling for it but you need a coordinated effort to adress other factors too.
Otherwise, people on minimum wage will earn less and their employers still won't cut prices. So who benefits.

Plus the minute you cut minimum wage you'll have to do the same with job seekers for obvious reasons

Mr.Micro

DrumSteve wrote: »

okay but you do realise that costs are pretty high in this country? these is only so much dropping of prices they can do before they get into below cost selling. wages and general public apathy to high prices are the primary reasons why prices are high. include Vat, electricity, so on and so forth...

If the hard pressed consumer here in Ireland has to make massive adjustments the retailer will have to follow suit to survive. Its why the likes of Aldi and Lidl thrive here because they compete.

johnnyskeleton

Mr.Micro wrote: »

If the hard pressed consumer here in Ireland has to make massive adjustments the retailer will have to follow suit to survive. Its why the likes of Aldi and Lidl thrive here because they compete.

Exactly. Thought of another way, saving jobs in the short term is not the goal, its saving jobs in the long term. To do that, we have to have prices drop so that wages can also drop so that we regain competitiveness. Ergo, it is your patriotic duty to shop in Northern Ireland, don't drink in pubs and refuse to buy property until the prices come down.

ceret

I have no sympathy for difficulty the retail sector near the border is suffering. They have charged too much for too long. If the only way you can stay in business is to charge a lot then your business deserves to fail. Businesses don't have a right to life.

hellboy99

david_the_great wrote: »

If people carried on shopping in the republic then the retail sector wouldn't be half as bad!

We did it for years and prices just kept going up, people now go up north and prices are still no better here.

Saying that high prices here are now due to the recent increase in cross border shopping is a joke, majority of retailers can lower their prices and still make a profit but they won't due to either sheer greed or stupid thinking like the government, ie. government see less money coming in they put taxes up, retailers see less customers and profits they put their prices up :rolleyes:

Aldi & Lidl are doing well with their lower prices and still making big profits, so why can't all the other retailers do the same.