In brief: DFDS has opened a new duty-free shop at St Helier Harbour, giving vehicle passengers the chance to browse and buy while waiting to board. A “Pay Now, Collect Later” service offers a particularly handy option for Jersey residents travelling off-island.
Shop While You Wait
Ferry passengers travelling with their vehicles through St Helier Harbour now have something more productive to do than stare at the bumper in front of them. DFDS has opened a new duty-free shop situated within the vehicle check-in and departure area on the seaward side of the terminal, Bailiwick Express reports.
The outlet, which has been operating for the past fortnight, stocks a range of duty-free wines, beers and other products. Crucially, it is positioned so that passengers can browse and purchase after checking in, while still waiting to board, rather than relying solely on what is available once they are on the ferry.
DFDS’s Jersey route director, Chris Parker, said: “We’re always looking at ways to make travelling through the Harbour more convenient for our passengers, and the new duty-free shop is another example of that.” He added that locating the shop alongside the vehicle departure lanes means passengers can do some shopping “rather than having to rely entirely on the facilities available on the ferry.”
Pay Now, Collect Later
One of the more thoughtful features of the new facility is a “Pay Now, Collect Later” service, which Mr Parker described as being aimed particularly at Jersey residents. The scheme allows Islanders to purchase duty-free goods before leaving the island and then collect them on their return, without having to take their purchases with them on the outward journey.
For anyone who has ever wrestled a case of wine through a French hypermarket and then faced the prospect of lugging it back across the Channel, this will sound rather appealing. It also sidesteps the minor inconvenience of carrying duty-free shopping around during a trip away.
Mr Parker noted: “The Pay Now, Collect Later service is particularly useful for Islanders, who can buy their duty-free goods before travelling and collect them when they return to Jersey, without having to take their purchases away with them.”
A Welcome Addition to the Harbour
Jersey’s status outside the UK’s VAT area and outside the EU means that duty-free shopping remains a genuine perk for islanders and visitors alike, something that residents of most of the British Isles lost when the UK left the European Union. The new shop makes that advantage a little more accessible by integrating it directly into the boarding process rather than treating it as an afterthought.
Mr Parker described the shop as “another welcome addition to the facilities available to passengers travelling through St Helier Harbour,” and given that the facility has already been running for a couple of weeks, early signs appear positive enough for DFDS to be talking it up publicly.
Source: Bailiwick Express
