The UK’s high streets have become a breeding ground for shops selling hundreds of items for a pound or less, with the rise of safe shopping online being partly to blame. Traditional retailers are being squeezed out of high profile locations and budget firms are moving in to take up the slack.

But pound shops are starting to branch out and take their bargain-oriented business models to the web as well, with Poundworld being the latest of these firms to enter the e-commerce fray.

It already has 270 bricks and mortar outlets nationwide, according to AOL Money, but now customers will be able to buy discounted items via safe shopping online as well.

The only problem is that while many items worth a pound are available, there are also lots of products which cost quite a bit more than this base price advertised by the firm’s name.

There are a few other caveats to bear in mind, including the fact that there is a flat delivery fee of £3.95 applied to all orders, with next day delivery costing an additional £2 on top of that. Also there is a minimum spend of £20 that customers must meet or exceed, to even be able to place an order with Poundworld.

It could be argued that the delivery costs are mitigated by the fact that a trip to the high street would itself involve certain charges, including for parking. But cost conscious fans of pound shops may find it tough to justify the leap to e-commerce when there are things like delivery charges and minimum spends to take into account.

In spite of such barriers, existing pound shops with e-commerce sites are already going strong and so, as competition grows in this part of the market, things may become more affordable for consumers.