Travel sized toiletries that are popular with tourists because of their space saving convenience can in fact be costing them many times the price of the same products in their standard sizes.
According to research that has been reported in the Daily Mail, airport shops are charging holidaymakers up to eight times the price for toiletries in miniature packs, when compared to what they would have paid for a regular sized bottle at a supermarket. Airport shops are cashing in on the popularity of miniature toiletries since the authorities introduced a 100ml limit on fluids and pastes in hand luggage when passengers are flying abroad.
Travelsupermarket.com undertook the study, and compared the prices of a number of branded toiletries sold in standard bottles in well known High Street retail outlets, with the smaller packages sold in Manchester and London airports. Among the disparities found was a 35ml can of Dove antiperspirant at an airport costing £1.99, while a 150ml can could be purchased from High Street outlets for just £1. Worse still, was a 50ml bottle of Johnsons Top to Toe Bath for babies that Boots charge £1.99 for at their airport outlets, while a bottle that is ten times the size, at 500ml, can be purchased from Asda stores for £2.67, making the airport version 845 percent more expensive per millilitre.
Travelsupermarket.com spokesperson, Bob Atkinson, told the Mail, ‘Whilst security regulations are tight in airports in this day and age, consumers can easily get caught out paying over the odds for their toiletries. We found over 30 products where the mark-up was over 100 per cent – or double the normal price per ml.’
