Smart shopping – Ireland ranks second in the top countries with the savviest consumers

A new study by online savings platform BravoVoucher reveals the top countries with the savviest consumers as part of the Smart Shopper Index, a global ranking of the top countries where consumers are the savviest with their spending habits and their savings.

● France crowned top country for smart shoppers, Poland takes last place in the ranking
● Irish shoppers score high for overall purchase consideration, spend wisely overall
● Consumers in Ireland particularly savvy when it comes to food spendings

Ireland runner-up in the ranking of countries with the savviest consumers

The study analysed several consumer habits including household savings and debt, purchase consideration, overall spending relative to cost of living, and food spending relative to cost in all OECD countries for which data was available, and aggregated these in a points-based index to find out which countries have the most discerning shoppers.

According to the new study, Irish shoppers are amongst the savviest worldwide, scoring 312 points in the ranking overall, second only to the French, who lead the ranking with 421 points. Ireland’s smart shoppers rank sixth in the chart for purchase consideration, losing out only to France, Portugal, Belgium, Finland and Lithuania for this “savviness” variable. Despite Irish shoppers scoring lower for overall household savings – placed at number 13 in the ranking, with savings of only 6% of their disposable income, it is their wise spending behaviour and low household debt that propelled them amongst the smartest shoppers worldwide.

Irish spending habits relative to cost places the country fifth in the ranking, with 170 points, a close score to that of the United States and Germany. Irish consumers also know how to manage their food spendings, ranking second for food spending relative to cost, after South Korea, in the global chart.

France crowned top country for smart shopping

France tops the ranking for the smartest shoppers, according to the new index, scoring highest on the considerate purchasing scale and an overall score of 421 points. The French also rank third when it comes to household savings, losing out only to Germany and the Netherlands. In second place, coming near the top of the list with 312 points is Ireland, as a result of its shoppers’ overall spending and food spending savviness. Germany comes in third in the ranking, with a score of 288, with Germans’ household savings being the highest in the OECD countries analysed.

Rounding up the top five countries are the United States in fourth place, a country with a high propensity to save up, and savvy overall spending habits, and Norway, in fifth place, coming top for overall spending relative to cost of living.

The most popular brands and shopping categories with savvy consumers

The study dug deeper into Google search data for 7 of BravoVoucher’s biggest markets in the rankings – the UK, France, Germany, the US, Italy, Spain and Poland, uncovering a positive correlation between search behaviour and shopper savviness.

Fashion is the top shopping category in four of the seven countries analysed, when it comes to savings and discounts, with fashion retailers leading the ranking of the most popular brands with smart shoppers – Kohl’s retail chain in the US, ranking in second place, with 14m monthly searches, online fashion giant Asos and sports retailer JD in fourth and fifth place respectively, in the UK. Similarly, Germany’s ranking is dominated by fashion and lifestyle retailers, with e-commerce company Otto leading the ranking, followed by fashion retailers Zalando and Asos.

Marco Farnararo, CEO at BravoVoucher, said: “What consumers regard as being smart with their shopping differs from country to country, and our study explores how different factors impact their overall shopping savviness. While online searches may tell one story, there are different variables that come into play, especially looking at spendings relative to cost or household savings. It’s interesting to see that although many shoppers continue to value more traditional deals and discount categories such as fashion and lifestyle, other categories that surged in interest during the pandemic, such as online food delivery, arts and crafts and even gaming are piquing their interest.”

For more information about the study, please visit: https://www.bravovoucher.co.uk/smart-shopper-index