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.

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 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.

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.

(Read by Renee Haines. Renee Haines is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)

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(Agencies)