Duty free isn't always cheaper after all, according to new research

You’ve got two hours to burn at Heathrow and, after your fourth round of window shopping, it’s tempting to spend all your cash right there at the departure lounge.

The offers are VAT-free after all, so it’s definitely cheaper, right?

Wrong – according to the latest study, anyway.

New research by Provident and Duty Free Hunters has found that travellers are actually charged up to 320% more for products in duty free than on the high street.

To come to this conclusion, the companies compared the price of popular duty-free items such as a bar of Toblerone, Jack Daniels and Paco Rabanne at different locations.

And it found that at Singapore airport, a bar of Toblerone would set you back £12.60 while it would cost just £3 at a regular store.

While at London Luton, a bottle of Jack Daniels would cost £30.29 compared to just £23.75 at a supermarket.

These were some of the most extreme cases, but overall, the report still found that more than 50% of duty free stores located all over the world charged more than the UK high street.

In other words, it’s cheaper to just buy it at home instead of lugging it half way across the world and back again.

So it’s worth saving that cash for extra margaritas once you arrive instead.

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