Which Countries Have the Savviest Shoppers?
How much thought do consumers put into saving money when they shop? And does where they live make a difference?
At Bravo Savings Network, we wanted to understand which countries show the strongest money-saving habits and which consumers are best at making their spending go further.
To find out, we analysed spending and saving behaviour across 25 OECD countries and created the Smart Shopper Index 2021.
Our research looks beyond how much people spend. We considered household finances, attitudes towards purchases, and the relationship between consumer expenditure and the local cost of living to build a broader picture of what it means to be a smart shopper.
How We Built the Smart Shopper Index
Each country was assessed across five key areas:
- Household savings
- Household debt
- Purchase consideration
- Overall expenditure relative to the cost of living
- Food expenditure relative to local costs
Household savings represent the income consumers retain after their expenses, while household debt reflects financial obligations such as mortgages, loans and credit card balances.
We also considered consumer attitudes towards spending, using the share of respondents who agreed that they carefully consider every purchase they make.
Finally, we compared both general expenditure and food expenditure with the cost of living in each country. This allowed us to measure not simply how much consumers spend, but how efficiently they spend relative to their local economic environment.
What Our Research Found
The results reveal substantial differences in shopping and saving behaviour across the countries we studied.
France ranked first overall, making French consumers the savviest shoppers in our index.
Germany recorded the strongest household savings performance, while the Netherlands had the highest level of household debt among the countries analysed.
When it comes specifically to food spending, South Korea stood out for using household budgets particularly efficiently. Norway, meanwhile, performed especially strongly when overall spending was compared with its high cost of living.
At the opposite end of the ranking, Poland recorded the lowest overall Smart Shopper score.
The Top 10 Smartest-Shopping Countries
1. France – 421 points
France takes the top position in our Smart Shopper Index.
Despite household debt being slightly above the average, French consumers perform exceptionally well when it comes to making considered purchasing decisions. Their strong results across several measures helped France secure a clear lead over the other countries analysed.
2. Ireland – 312 points
Ireland comes in second with 312 points.
Irish households may not match France on every saving metric, but consumers perform strongly when expenditure is assessed against local costs. Ireland ranks particularly well for both overall spending efficiency and food-related spending.
3. Germany – 288 points
Germany takes third place overall and achieves the strongest result for household savings.
German consumers also perform very well when total expenditure is compared with the local cost of living, suggesting a strong tendency to manage spending carefully and look for opportunities to save.
4. United States – 284 points
The United States follows closely behind Germany, with only four points separating the two countries.
American consumers sit closer to the middle of the table when it comes to carefully considering each purchase. However, their strong savings behaviour and relatively efficient overall spending push the US into fourth place.
5. Norway – 211 points
Norway ranks fifth despite having both the highest cost of living and the highest food costs among the countries included in our study.
Norwegian consumers also spend more in absolute terms, but their expenditure performs particularly well once adjusted for the country’s high living costs. This gives Norway the strongest score for overall spending relative to cost of living.
6. Belgium – 196 points
Belgium places sixth overall.
Belgian consumers rank particularly highly for purchase consideration, while their performance across the remaining measures is generally closer to the middle of the table. Taken together, those results are enough to secure a place in the top ten.
7. Colombia – 194 points
Colombia reaches seventh place in our ranking.
The country benefits from the lowest cost of living, food costs, and food expenditure among those included in the study. Combined with relatively low household debt, this gives Colombian consumers a strong overall Smart Shopper score.
8. Austria – 191 points
Austria performs consistently across most of the factors included in the index.
Austrian consumers appear in or close to the top ten on several measures. Their weaker result for purchase consideration prevents them from ranking higher, but their balanced performance still earns Austria eighth place overall.
9. Netherlands – 177 points
The Netherlands produces one of the most contrasting results in our study.
Dutch consumers rank second for both household savings and overall spending efficiency. However, the country also records the highest household debt level in the index.
The result suggests that Dutch consumers are highly effective at finding value, even though their broader financial position is more heavily influenced by debt.
10. Russia – 149 points
Russia completes the top ten.
Russian households show strong financial stability, recording the lowest debt level and the fourth-highest savings result among the countries analysed.
Despite having one of the lowest costs of living and relatively low food costs, Russian consumers perform less strongly on some of the shopping-behaviour indicators included in our index.
What the Smart Shopper Index Tells Us
Our research shows that being a smart shopper is about much more than simply spending less. Across the countries we analysed, the strongest performers combine healthy saving habits, careful purchasing decisions and an ability to make their money go further relative to the local cost of living.
Looking more closely at seven major markets, the UK, France, Germany, the United States, Italy, Spain and Poland, we also found a positive relationship between savings–related search behaviour and overall performance in the Smart Shopper Index. Consumers who actively search for discounts, deals and ways to save online also tend to show stronger shopping habits more broadly.
At the same time, the data highlights clear differences in what consumers choose to save on. Fashion plays a particularly important role in markets such as Germany, the UK and Poland, while Lifestyle brands attract greater savings interest in countries including France, Spain and Italy. The most searched brands also vary considerably from market to market, reflecting different shopping priorities and local consumer habits.
For us at Bravo Savings Network, these findings underline how differently consumers approach value around the world. Whether shoppers are comparing prices, searching for discount codes or simply thinking more carefully before making a purchase, saving behaviour is shaped by both financial circumstances and everyday shopping culture.
Ultimately, the Smart Shopper Index 2021 shows that there is no single way to be a savvy shopper. What the strongest-performing markets have in common is a more considered approach to spending, and a willingness to look for opportunities to make every purchase count.