The British Are Coming... for Cheap Holiday Bargains

Dec. 1, 2006 — -- Next time you're out shopping, the person standing behind you in line might just be getting a better deal than you. And yes, they're speaking with an accent.

Thanks to a massive drop in the dollar's value against the euro and pound sterling many people from across the pond are heading to the United States to snap up holiday bargains that they quite simply can't find in their home countries.

Even with the expense of flying over and staying in a hotel, they're grabbing gifts at what they consider rock-bottom prices. Right now, every pound gets you two U.S. greenbacks and the euro is near two-year highs against the dollar.

"As the euro gets stronger and the holidays approach, we are seeing an upswing in the number of visitors from overseas," said Dan Jasper, director of public relations for the Mall of America.

And why not, when you consider how good the currency imbalance is treating them. For example, an iPod Nano, which costs 169 pounds in London (approximately $330 based on today's exchange rate) rings up for just $249 at the Mall of America's Apple Store. And unlike most European nations, Minnesota has no sales tax.

Just that one purchase would save a savvy British shopper more than a hundred dollars. If they do all their holiday seasonal shopping, they could easily save enough cash to pay for a round-trip ticket and weekend hotel stay.

Jasper says that about 6 percent of the super-mall's traffic comes from overseas visitors. They even have a tourist department that works with air carriers and hotels to build cheap shopping tour packages.

"I spoke with a woman from Iceland who came over and bought $600 worth of goods and essentially made money on her trip," said Jasper. "She made enough in savings to pay for the airfare and hotel and still got all the goods that she wanted to get. So for her it was an adventure, plus she came out ahead."