Hey, big spenders!

They're an advertiser's dream - young and single with money to spend, free time in which to spend it and a taste for the finer things in life.

However, this image of the perfect shopper impulsively snapping up the latest top-of-the-range goods belongs not to women, but to men.

In direct contrast to the traditional view of women as frivolous shopaholics and men as sensible savers, new research has revealed that when it comes to spending, single males have the upper hand.

Market analysts Key Note questioned more than 1,000 single people aged 18 to 45 about their lifestyles and spending habits. While young single women were thinking about the future and planning ahead, their male counterparts were happy to flash the cash without any thought for later life.

Nicknamed Screamers by marketers - short for self-centred, rich, educated, adventurous and materialistic - these single men with their expensive cars, Bang and Olufsen speakers and loftstyle apartments, as portrayed by Hugh Grant in the film About A Boy, use their money to boost their status.

Higher earning power and home ownership put them in a better position to use their disposable income, while women feel the need to provide for a rainy day. The spending capacity of single men also extends to their social lives with 64 per cent saying they go out to socialise compared to 55 per cent of women.

The report found that many single women preferred to stay in; 46 per cent questioned said they entertain friends with meals or drinks at home at least once a month compared to 33 per cent of men. Report editor Simon Taylor said: "This can be attributed to male preferences for convenience foods, visiting pubs and eating out.

"There is a new realism among young single women, who are well aware that a change in their status and family formation may well reduce their financial independence."

Regardless of their sex, one in three young singles admitted to spending rather than saving. However, single women were more likely to have bought a new financial product, such as ISAs and pensions, in the past 12 months rather than their male counterparts, with five per cent investing compared to three per cent of men.

The report also showed single women were more likely than single men to view their unattached status as a good alternative to marriage - 42 per cent compared to 34 per cent.