Martin Lewis Tells Holidaymakers Not To Shop At Zara In The UK

Martin Lewis has issued a warning for Zara shoppers who are planning to travel from the UK to Spain and numerous other European countries.

The MoneySavingExpert founder has shared an important update about the high street retailer on his blog and shoppers need to be aware before jetting off on holiday.

According to Lewis' research, the popular Spanish fashion brand sells clothes in its native at a much cheaper price compared to its British prices.

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Lewis is now urging all fashion loves to wait until they arrive in Spain to buy their new outfits and garments because it's 'usually cheaper'.

He also said it also tends to be cheaper to buy from Zara in other European countries such as France, Greece or Italy where customers pay with euros.

"The price difference is enormous," he said in his recent blog post. "The pound price is often higher than the euro price before you even convert the currency (which further cheapens the euro price)."

English customers abroad can select 'English' as a language on the Spanish website which is 'almost identical' to the British website, thus making shopping even easier while on holiday.

Lewis used the Chambray blazer with elbow pads as an example as part of his cross-country research. On the Spanish website the blazer costs €99.95 meanwhile the same garment is listed as £129 on the UK site.

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However when using the TravelMoneyMax service through the MoneySavingExpert, the blazer is even cheaper at £81, this is a huge £50 difference that shoppers could use to buy an additional garment.

This example is from 2014 however recent research this month suggests there is still a difference in prices for the Spanish website and the UK website.

For instance, the Women’s Rustic Dress is listed at £49.99 on Zara UK. However on Zara Spain, it costs €39.95 which is £33.80. The dress is not listed on the Greek website, however, on both Zara France and Zara Italy, the dress costs €49.95 which is £42.20.

Lewis' findings suggest on average prices are 31 percent cheaper in Spain and Greece than the UK, 21 percent cheaper in France and Italy.

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Tyla has approached Zara for comment.

In other related Zara news, the fashion brand announced is now charging online customers a fee to return items.

Those who choose to return items to third-party drop-off points across the country will now be charged a £1.95 fee, which is taken from the refund sum.

"Customers can return online purchases at any Zara store in the UK free of charge, which is what most customers do. The £1.95 fee only applies to the return of products at third party drop off points," a spokesperson told Tyla in May.