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20th December 2016
12:18am GMT
If you've been living under a rock, you may be surprised to learn that the ever-powerful Pound Sterling has just nosedived to an all-time low.
The plummet has been happening since the very start of this year, long before Brexit came into effect, but fears over Britain's departure from the EU have now caused the currency to hit the lowest value in 168 years.
Photo cred: www.economicshelp.org
However, what does this mean for us?
Well, it means a) that 10 pound note you've been meaning to cash in for the past five years is basically glorified loo roll and b) a weak Pound make British exports cheaper.
Right?
Wrong.
As EU members and Euro users, we should be benefitting greatly from the sterling's recent collapse – but, regrettably, it seems that retailers aren't passing on the benefits of the shift in currency.
Instead, they're essentially choosing to rip off customers.
Note, this set of bike lights from German retailer Aldi, which has a mark-up of almost 33% here for Euro users.
Source: Reddit
High street shops are also coming under fire for their lack of consistency when it comes to respecting the currency.
In popular British retailer Topshop, we found these four items of clothing priced at €125 (£89), €57 (£42), €98 (£69) and €110 (£79).
In accordance with our current climate, these prices should come in at €98.36, €46.42, €76.26 and €87.31 - a total of €308.35.
Instead, you'll be paying €390 – i.e. an extra 20.9% to your shopping bill.
We found the same in H&M, charging €119 (£79.99), €99.99 (£69.99) and €69.99 (£49.99).
These prices should be €88.41, €77.35 and €55.25 or €221.01 when converted at market rate.
Instead, it will cost you €288.98 – a 23.5% increase.
Popular apothecary store Space NK is also playing host to these scandalous prices.
A moisturiser in their store is priced at £75, which should come in at €82.89, but instead costs €105.
A Clarisonic treatment brush is priced at £199 in store (which should equate to just under €220) but instead comes in at €249.
Coming up to Christmas, this is naturally a cause for concern for everyone.
New figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) confirm these concerns as it was shown that prices were unchanged in September.
The CSO found there were, in fact, increases in the prices of footwear, housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, despite the collapse in value of the Pound.
They also stated that overall prices fell by just 0.4% in September, but remained unchanged when compared with the same month last year.
Professors, economic advisors and market strategists have all had their say in just how low the currency will plummet – ranging from $1.15 (€1.04) - $1.22 (€1.11), meaning that the true price of these products could fall even further.
Which, yes, means that you will be ripped off even further.
Not only is this bad news for shoppers, it's also another burden for local businesses as many customers will choose to go online or travel to the North in search of seasonal bargains.
C'mon lads, get your act together.
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