Amazon introduces free shipping

Online retailer Amazon has announced that it is to introduce a free delivery service for customers in Ireland.

The service is eligible for goods on all orders costing £25 (€27) or more.

The move comes just months after the company lifted most of the delivery restricutions it had applied to shoppers in Ireland.

Previously, customers in Ireland could only purchase items from the books, music, DVD and video, software and videogames and toys stores.

The company had stopped delivering electrical products to Ireland in 2006 after a row over the implementation of the waste directive. However In April, the company began shipping electronics and other previously unavailable goods.

In a statement, Amazon, the world's biggest online retailer, said that since it had increased the number of goods available to buy in Ireland, it had seen a "very positive" response from Irish customers.

"Having made millions of items available at low prices, the aim now is to enhance the shopping experience of customers in Ireland and we are delighted to introduce a free delivery service, allowing even greater value to be gained from shopping at Amazon.co.uk," said Brian McBride, managing director of Amazon.co.uk.

Bestsellers in Ireland since the extended product range became available include Braun epilators, Garmin Forerunner sports watches, ghd hair straighteners, Nikon digital SLR Cameras and Western Digital external hard drives.

In addition to the new delivery service Amazon has also introduced a currency converter on its site which displays pricing in euros so that customers know exactly what they are paying when ordering goods.