The Cross Border Shopping survey was included in the General Household Survey (GHS) in the first quarter (January to March) of 2018. One member of each household answered questions on behalf of the household about travel to Northern Ireland in the previous 12 months and specifically about shopping in Northern Ireland. The questions on shopping in Northern Ireland focused on how much households spent and the frequency of shopping trips. Online purchases are not included.

Food and groceries was the most common category among all households who shopped in Northern Ireland (65.8%), 54.7% bought Clothes, footwear and sports goods, 40% bought Alcohol, 21.7% purchased Cosmetics and 13.5% purchased Petrol/diesel.