It is quite common for the weekly shop to be split between outlets on both sides of the Border, as discerning shoppers compare prices in Lifford and Strabane, Chris Ashmore reports
The tide appears to be turning for the Co Tyrone town of Strabane. After years of economic stagnation - it has the distinction of being the North's biggest unemployment blackspot as well as having the lowest average house prices - there are real signs that the retail sector is fighting back.
Traditionally, Strabane drew much of its customer base from east Donegal, but the strength of sterling combined with the lure of a greater variety of retail outlets in competing centres such as Derry and Letterkenny led to a fall-off in trade.
But now the town, which prides itself on being euro-friendly, is fighting back.
Only the width of the River Finn divides it from Lifford, Co Donegal. But both towns have built up separate types of trade from customers who, more and more, are able to discern where to find the best value.
This is a region with one Border, two currencies, and traffic congestion on both sides for very different reasons.
In Lifford, lengthy queues can be seen every day as Northern motorists flock to avail of the Republic's "cheap" petrol and cigarettes. A typical full tank of petrol in Lifford will cost around €16 less than buying it in the North. Little wonder then that Strabane has seen six petrol stations close in recent years. Lifford's two petrol stations are, not surprisingly, doing a thriving trade. Cigarettes cost almost €7 in the North; they're around €1.60 a packet cheaper in the Republic.
But the flipside is that alcohol is much cheaper in the North, and retailers in Strabane also claim that many other items are cheaper. Their contention appears justified. Outside the supermarkets and off-licences in Strabane these days there are nearly as many Southern- registered cars.
"We had our busiest Christmas for many years and we had queues for New Year sales for the first time in five years, with quite a number of people from Donegal," Colm McLaughlin, secretary of the Strabane Chamber of Commerce, said.
He said the town is the most euro-friendly place in the North, with prices often shown in both currencies. "We wrote to Tony Blair last year, asking him to launch his euro campaign from Strabane as we are the most westerly part of the UK. We are a euro town, with about one-third of our trade traditionally from Donegal," he explained.
Indeed, he recalls one recent incident when a commercial salesman from Wexford was in his shop and when he went to write the address on an invoice, he put in the street name and then Lifford rather than Strabane. He was unaware that he was in the North. You can quite easily live in Strabane without having any sterling in your pocket.
The arrival of the euro also led to a price hike in many goods and services in the Republic and this is something that Northern traders are now playing on as they seek to win back customers.
And Charlie McCreevy's recent Budget, with its increase in some excise duties, brought added Christmas cheer to off-licences in Strabane as the price differential widened further.
A litre of Smirnoff can be bought in Strabane for £11.99 sterling - that's just over €19 - while Safeway was selling 24 half-litre cans of Tennents for £9.99 sterling, around €16 - about half the price you would pay in the Republic.
A Safeway spokesman said trade has been up "considerably" on last year. "When the euro came in there was a lot of confusion but now people have a better grasp of it and people are coming back again from Donegal," he said.
Caseloads of beer were being carried to cars by staff specially employed to cope with the volume. And more people were back to stock up before New Year's Eve as well.
Many householders in Border areas such as east Donegal and west Tyrone are now experts when it comes to getting the best value.
It is quite common for the weekly shop to be split between outlets on both sides of the Border. Even readers of The Irish Times can save money by being smart. In Lifford, the paper costs €1.40; over the bridge in Strabane it's 75 pence sterling - that's about €1.23.