The male urge to shop: Men spend more than women on items they buy on a whim

By Daily Mail Reporter
Updated: 13:49 EST, 16 May 2011


Modern men spend more on impulse buys than women do, research has revealed.

A study found that men regularly shell out an average of £25-a-week on items they bought on a whim, while women spend close to £19-per-week.

Food, beer and DVDs are the most common treats for males while clothes, magazines and wine topped the list for women along with books, shoes and toiletries.

DVDs: One of man's favourite impulse buys
Beer: One of men's favourite impulse buys

Treats: DVDs and beer were found to be among men's most popular impulse buys, who spent around £25-a-week compared with women's £19

The poll of 2,000 customers found that over a typical adult lifetime around £70,217.28 will be frittered away purely to satisfy the overwhelming urge to shop.

Researcher Emily Stag said: 'Twenty pounds a week might not seem a lot, but can add up to a huge amount over a lifetime.

'For £70,000 you could easily put a large deposit on a house, pay off all your debits or buy a sports car.

'General consensus would suggest consumers are trying to save every penny at the moment, but our research shows we still like to treat ourselves or our loved ones.'

The study, by from npower hometeam 50, found triggers such as receiving birthday money, coming into an unexpected windfall such as cash back from a company, or a small win on the lottery often result in spur of the moment purchases.

TOP 20 IMPULSE BUYS

1. Food                                                                 11. Home furnishings

2. Clothes                                                            12. Music

3. Magazines                                                       13. Clothes for the children

4. Bottles of wine                                                14. Jewellery

5. Books                                                               15. Accessories

6. DVDs                                                                16. Gadgets

7. Shoes                                                               17. Garden accessories

8. Holidays                                                           18. Flowers

9. Beer                                                                   19. Toys

10. Toiletries                                                        20. Day trips

Six out of ten women admit they regularly give in to temptation if there is a sale on and six out of ten also cited retail therapy as the main reason for shopping on impulse.

Only four out of ten men said the same thing.

It also emerged one in three girls admit they don't bother telling their other half about their recent purchases.

Furthermore one in five couples argue as a direct result of overspending each week.

 

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