Tesco parks its Dundrum discount

Every little helps. Tesco, which again this Christmas will battle Aldi, Lidl, Dunnes Stores and SuperValu for sales, has "moved" the pricing for its car park at the godawful-busy Dundrum Town Centre.

Previously, customers who spent €30 at the store got a voucher for two hours’ free parking in the adjacent carpark. From last Monday, all shoppers are charged €2 for up to three hours of parking in the Tesco lot, the same as the rest of Dundrum’s carparks.

Is it because shopping is back in vogue and Tesco can get away with it? Or because it needs the money? You decide. But it could easily raise an extra few hundred thousand euro a year for the retailer.

“To avoid any confusion for Dundrum customers and to offer value to all of our customers regardless of their basket size, we decided to move the Tesco car park rates in line with the rest of the Dundrum Town Centre,” it confirmed.

Something about the move doesn’t make sense, however. Why would Tesco slap a previously avoidable charge on big-ticket trolley shoppers at a time when its rivals are trying to gobble them up? Then again, what would I know? I’m only a customer.