The move to online shopping has not only shifted retail to digital, it has also generated growth in shoppers searching for bargains, with data showing that across Europe, Belgians are the biggest savers.
Research by Savoo has looked at metrics such as household spending and saving, the number of flea markets available, Etsy listings and the number of Google searches for discount codes to determine where in the world the savviest spenders live.
Ranking in first place, Belgium is home to the world’s savviest spenders. Earning itself the crown thanks to their shopping and saving abilities, this western European country is filled with bargain hunters. Belgians make more than 943,597 searches online for discount codes terms which works out to be a massive 81 searches per 1,000 people.
The nation also has 2.1 Etsy products and flea markets available for every million residents. With an average household saving of £1,026 per year, this nation’s low debt and average disposable income after tax makes them the world’s savviest country.
The UK places in eighth position, with an average household saving of just £71 per. This is largely due to the UK’s high household debt (£29,642) and lower average income in comparison to other nations (£20,675), according to OECD data.
At the other end of the scale, is Greece. Home to sandy beaches and gyros, this Mediterranean country has been revealed as the least savvy spending nation thanks to the country’s low average household savings. With a negative saving rate of -14% (that totals out to be a staggering -£1,781 annually) Greek households are not saving at all, but in fact, spending more on their outgoing cost.
However, it should be noted that Greeks are not using their savings to cover an extravagant lifestyle, but also using it to cover daily expenses due to the country’s financial circumstances that has put them into debt.
But it’s not just Greece that is unable to save, six other countries came out with a negative saving rate in the study. These countries are Portugal (-2.5%), Latvia (-1.3%), Poland (-1%), Finland (-0.8%), New Zealand (-0.3%) and South Africa (-0.1%).
But it’s not just about how much money you save that makes you a savvy spender – it’s also about how smartly you shop. The study has taken an in-depth look at which countries are most on the hunt for a bargain by analysing the number of Etsy listings for second-hand products and the number of flea markets to determine the thriftiest shoppers. Finally, it also looked at how much each country searches for discounts and voucher codes online to find the most deal-savvy nation.
Ireland is home to the most bargain-hunting shoppers
The research found that the Irish are the biggest second-hand shoppers. Caring the most about being sustainable shoppers, Ireland reigns supreme as the world’s most thrifty nation, with an impressive 33.2 second-hand Etsy products per million people compared to the UK that has less than half of that (14.2). Luxembourg followed in second place with 32 second-hand Etsy products per million people.
Not only is Belgium home to the third biggest bargain-hunting shoppers, but they also come out on top as the most deal-savvy nation. Passionate about bagging some savings, Belgians are making 81 discount code-related searches per 1,000 people each month. France comes in second place, with French residents making 55 searches per 1,000 people for discount and voucher codes each month.
On the other hand, Luxembourg residents are the least likely to search for a discount whilst shopping online. Luxembourgers make just 340 monthly searches for savings a month, which works out to be less than one (0.54) search per 1,000 people a month.
Coventry ranks as the UK city home to the savviest spenders
By using the cost of living and monthly income to work out how much each person could potentially save, as well as looking into the number of Google searches for discount codes terms were made by each city, Savoo finds that the Midlands city Coventry comes in as home to the UK’s savviest spenders thanks to their highest potential savings of £1,073 a month.
Making 14 searches per 1,000 residents each month for online promo codes and vouchers (which is the third-highest just after Bristol (20) and Liverpool (17)), their high potential savings propels them to the top of the charts.
Londoners only have a potential monthly saving of £292 which is the second-lowest just after Bristol (£242) thanks to the city’s unsurprisingly high living cost of £2,534 a month.
Not only that, the study found that Londoners are not as interested in saving money when shopping online, the capital makes just 10 searches for every 1,000 people for discount terms secure its position as the UK’s least savvy city when it comes to spending.
Commenting on the findings, Ed Fleming, Managing Director at Savoo says: “Our report shows that being a savvy spender is not just about how much you save. Shopping smartly is one of the biggest contributors to being a savvy shopper and Belgians is hitting the nail on the head when it comes to this. Not only have they been crowned the world’s savviest spenders, but they have also consistently made the top for the different metrics we analysed. Taking those extra steps to being a savvy spender by searching online for discount codes or even by shopping second-hand is something we can all do to help put those few extra coins into our savings.”
