Big price differences in duty free shops

Duty-free shopping: If you shop in so-called duty-free shops or travel value shops, you can get some products such as perfume, jewelry or sunglasses cheaper than in conventional retailers. 

The language learning platform Preply compared the prices of selected items (sunglasses, jewelry, watches, men's perfume, women's perfume, chocolate, wine gums, beer, sparkling wine, schnapps, wine) to see how cheap shopping there really is and where bargain hunters can get the most for their money , cigarettes and tobacco) in shops at airports in over 15 European capitals. 

Travelers have to dig deeper into their pockets when shopping in the duty-free areas of the airports in Amsterdam, Sofia and Madrid. The most expensive shopping tour without customs duties is in Amsterdam with an average price of 108,70 euros (for 9 of 13 available items). The shops in Sofia and Madrid are also among the most expensive in the comparison, with average prices of 99,40 euros and 96,40 euros respectively (for 8 of 13 available items each). The five most expensive airport stores are complimented by the shops in Helsinki and Athens with average prices of 96,10 euros (for 10 of 13 items available) and 90,90 euros (for 11 of 13 items available), respectively.

Although the Vienna airport store is in the middle range with an average price of 82,20 euros, the range is extensive: 12 of the 13 items examined are available here. This means that the store is best equipped in the comparison. Shopping trips through the duty-free areas at the airports in Nicosia, Zagreb and Rome are comparatively cheap. Here, shopping lovers pay average prices of 37,80 euros, 42,40 euros and 46,80 euros for 6 of 13 available items.

In the airport shop in Vienna, travelers pay around 50 euros less for the same women's perfume from the luxury brand Dior (80 ml) with a price of 28 euros than in Dublin, where women's perfume is the most expensive. Comparable Swarovski brand necklaces cost an average of 142,20 euros in Travel Value shops, with the branded necklace in Stockholm being the cheapest at a price of 113,40 euros. To buy Ray-Ban sunglasses, a trip to the duty-free shop at Stockholm airport is also worth it: here, air travelers pay 127,20 euros, which is around 15,80 euros below the average of the prices compared.

Since travel value shops freely determine their prices, not all items are cheaper than in retail stores. Those with a sweet tooth in particular are among the losers here: 360 grams of Toblerone costs an average of 10,92 euros in the duty-free shop. Buying Swiss chocolate in retail stores is therefore cheaper. A bottle of Moët & Chandon champagne costs between 43,40 euros and 76,90 euros in the airport department stores. Depending on the location, buying champagne in a duty-free shop is no cheaper than in retail. A liter of Jack Daniels, which costs an average of 30,30 euros in airport stores, is no cheaper than in retail, depending on the location.