Americans spend 54 hours per year online shopping

Americans are so focused on saving money that four in 10 are more likely to bring up a recent spend in conversation if they scored a good deal on it — so they can brag about their find.

That’s according to a new survey of 2,000 general population Americans, which revealed 42% want to chat about their great finds.

Not only that, but eight in 10 respondents are excited to share their secrets: they want to tell others where they, too, can find the best deal.

Nationwide, the average respondent spends 62 minutes shopping online each week — adding up to about 54 hours per year.

Conducted by OnePoll and commissioned by Citi for the Citi Shop browser extension, the survey looked at Americans’ shopping habits and their dedication to finding deals.

Within this, the survey revealed that for 52% of respondents, their online shopping habit has increased in the past year. While online shopping, 71% said the most important thing is the item’s price, even more so than the product’s quality (46%).

And with price as the most important factor, six in 10 Americans surveyed “always” or “often” look for a promotion code or other offer before checking out with an online purchase.

If it takes too long to find one, 37% said they won’t proceed with their purchase.
Younger generations were the most likely to abandon their purchase if they couldn’t find a deal — 51% of Gen Z and 46% of millennials surveyed agreed with this.

The results also revealed that 53% of respondents have items they’ll never pay full price for — only purchasing them if there’s a deal.

“American consumers live busy lifestyles and online shopping has become a way of life,” said Anthony Merola, Head of Proprietary Products for U.S. Branded Cards at Citi. “Today’s shopping tools, including browser extensions, have become a go-to resource for people to conveniently save on time and money.”

With this dedication to finding deals, perhaps it’s no surprise that three-quarters (77%) of those surveyed self-identified as “savvy shoppers.”

Furthermore, a third of Americans believe finding deals is their “shopping superpower,” with 34% selecting this as their “superpower” and beating out other
options like getting free shipping (18%) or spotting quality items (12%) online.

When they save money, shoppers surveyed are most likely to use those savings to then treat themselves (26%).

They also might use their savings to pay off a bill (26%) or spend it on other essentials (26%). Additionally, shoppers surveyed said they would put the extra money in their savings account (25%) or use it to shop more (20%).

As seasonal shopping approaches, the survey looked at the extra mile some respondents would go, in order to get a good deal. Nationwide, one in 10 (11%) would be willing to wait in line for hours, while 15% of shoppers would set an alarm to remind themselves.

More commonly, shoppers would download a specific app or browser extension (32%), make a “game plan” (26%) or browse from multiple devices (26%).

“Now, with more convenient ways to find deals with shopping tools, everyone can be a savvy shopper,” explained Merola. “You don’t have to worry about searching for deals when your shopping automatically searches behind the scenes for savings at your favorite online merchants.”

Survey methodology:
This random double-opt-in survey of 2,000 general population Americans was commissioned by Citi between March 22 and March 28, 2024. It was conducted by market research company OnePoll, whose team members are members of the Market Research Society and have corporate membership to the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) and the European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR).