Tired of excessively high prices? Well, the onus is now on the shopper to help get those prices down! Nicole Buckler investigates.

The Irish Entrepreneur, March 2004 edition

It is now a well known fact that Irish consumers are paying way too much for what we are purchasing. Buy why is this? Many punters will argue that competition has not been allowed to flourish effectively here, and to some extent, that plays a factor. But let's pretend for a minute that competition in Ireland is effective enough and that as a general rule, it works to keep prices in check. This would work on the premise that if we all shopped around in many places, and consistently bought the cheapest item, that competitors would also reduce their prices to stay in the game. But this is not the case at all., simply because Irish people are not shopping around" What is it about our attitudes towards shopping that we don't do this? This is very much contributing to prices staying manically high. We aren't forcing retailers and service providers to compete on a price basis. Are we lazy? Are we rushed? Are we drunk? What's going on?

Says Dave Wall of RipOffIreland.Org, "Prices are high because of peoples reluctance to shop around. I no longer buy certain items on the high street and use the internet when possible. If people were more aware of the savings to be made from shopping around then competition would actually work. For example, in Blanchardstown Shopping Centre, there are many shops selling Playstation games, two of which are across from each other and one is more expensive than the other. If people stopped buying games from the more expensive store then they would be forced into reducing their prices. But, Irish people seem afraid of shopping around."

This desire on our part as consumers to buy the first thing we see prompted the Director of Consumer Affairs, Carmel Foley, to launch a campaign to increase price awareness last November. Said Foley, "The main message of the campaign is that 'Price Awareness Pays'. We want to remind consumers that they can save money by comparing prices and by having a greater regard to price when choosing goods and services. As consumers we do have choices and we can make a real difference by taking a pro-active approach. Surveys consistently show a spread of prices. We want to encourage consumers to question how much they pay for everyday goods and services, then to question whether or not they are getting value for their money".

Even the Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Harney, has been banging on about shopping around. She said that consumers have a role to play in ensuring effective competition by shopping around and seeking the best value for the products or services which they require.

Lecturer in Entrepreneurship at DIT, Dr Tom Cooney, says that there is merit to the argument that Irish people are reluctant to shop around and simply buy the first thing that they see. "This certainly has been true in recent years with people having higher disposable incomes, but less time. People believe that it is easy to save time by picking up the first item that fits their need, since if it doesn't suit, they can always buy something else tomorrow when they have more time. This would not have happened before the mid-nineties when money was less plentiful. It could also be argued that people behave in this way because they are lazy and they do not go to the trouble of spending time planning their purchase  and looking at alternative options. Another argument regarding this behaviour is that it is much more likely to be found in men who are generally considered to be functional shoppers. However, I do not believe that Irish people are much different from other nationalities of similar wealth, but we are merely following the global trend towards convenience and instant gratification. Because Irish people are less willing to shop around they have to pay more for the product/service. Your are not in a position to bargain or search for alternatives if you need it now. We justify this expense by believing the marketing spiel that there is a perfect correlation between price and quality, and that 'you get what you pay for'. But this practice is also driven by personal insecurity, as with increased wealth some people have developed a need to display it by purchasing expensive branded products when better, but less visible, options are frequently available. Again, this behaviour is not peculiar to Ireland."

TIPS FOR SHOPPING AROUND

According to Diarmuid MacShane of Value Ireland (www.valueireland.com), here are a couple of suggestions about how we can shop even smarter in order to save our hard earned money, and beat the rip off prices.

Click here to read the original page with these Tips for Shopping Around.

WHY AREN'T IRISH PEOPLE SHOPPING AROUND?

The Irish Entrepreneur speaks to Diarmuid MacShane of www.valueireland.com.