From rent to online shopping, which country’s residents spend the most?
Ubuy Switzerland did a study that looked at factors like local purchasing power, annual average income, average annual online spending, and cost of living for each country.
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Find out where the United States ranked, and what experts predict this means for consumer spending.
Switzerland
Switzerland topped the list as the highest spending country. Ubuy found that based on Switzerland’s purchasing power, Swiss residents can afford more goods and services than people in New York with the same salary.
The average income for the Swiss is $69.632 American dollars, and almost 3% is spent on online shopping, or $1,969.
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United States
The United States ranked second when it comes to spending worldwide. The annual average income for Americans is $59,006, and about 5% of that is spent on online shopping, or almost $3,000.
The U.S. also ranked high when it came to cost of living expenses. David Kindness, a personal finance writer at Best Money, explained this could be the reason for ranking so high in spending.
“With a cost-of-living index at 70.4 and rent index at 41.7, Americans are dealing with some of the highest expenses globally. Basic necessities like groceries and dining also carry steep costs,” Kindness said.
“These financial pressures mean that while Americans are spending heavily online, they may also be leveraging e-commerce as a way to find deals or stretch their income further in the face of rising living costs.”
Australia
Those living down under ranked pretty high when it came to spending. Australians bring in $45,711 on average, and $1,731 of that is spent on e-commerce.
The cost of living is almost on par with America and groceries are just slightly more expensive. However, going out to eat and what residents pay for rent is cheaper than in the United States.
Looking at how Australia’s cost of living is the same as America’s, but they spend less, Brenton D. Harrison, a financial advisor and founder of New Money, New Problems, explained that even though Americans have a higher cost of living, their spending is still high in comparison.
“Despite an objectively high cost of living, our purchasing power and discretionary spending outpace our peers,” Harrison said. “And if you’ve traveled abroad, these results aren’t that surprising; Americans traveling abroad are often surprised at the difference in everything from smaller portion sizes at restaurants, to smaller homes with less amenities than what they’re used to at home.”
United Kingdom
Ranking fourth on the list is the U.K. One interesting trend to note here is that of the $36,073 U.K. residents are bringing in, 7% or $2,621 is spent on online shopping. That number is very close to America’s, though with a much lower income.
Kindness explained that Americans might be spending less of their income on online shopping because of inflation.
“As prices rise across essential categories like housing and food, consumers are likely feeling the squeeze on their overall budgets,” he said. “This could drive shifts in spending behavior, with more people prioritizing necessities or looking for value in their online purchases.”
Norway
Norweigans actually earn the most of any other country in the top five at $69,953. They spend about 3% of that on e-commerce, and also have the highest cost of living of any of the other countries in the top five. However, the cost of rent is the lowest in the top five.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: How Much the US Spends Compared to Other Countries: How It Affects Your Wallet
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
