According to a recent survey conducted by the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska Lincoln, over the past 10 years, the number of rural Nebraska citizens who regularly shop online. has doubled.

The survey analyzed data from 6,500 household in 84 non-urban counties in March and April of this year. The researchers received 2,797 responses, which indicated that 68 percent of respondents had made purchases on the internet last year. This number indicates a sharp rise since 2000, when only 29 percent of respondents had shopped online.

Nearly half of the respondents said they make purchases online several times a year, while 42 percent said they shop online. at least once a month. A total of 53 percent of respondents who used the internet for shopping said they'd spent at least $500.

"This has become a fairly frequent activity," said Randy Cantrell, rural sociologist with the Nebraska Rural Initiative. "It's really expanding."

As more people in Nebraska turn to the web for shopping, fewer people are visiting local brick-and-mortar stores to purchase the items they need.

Shopping online is an effective way to save money .on purchases. Consumer Reports suggests searching on specialty websites, looking for online coupons and searching for local discounts as ways to find the best deals on the web.