Hey big spender: Rich stylish Singaporean men self-splurge a lot more than women

Men are spending more on "me" time.

It won't be long until we see more men walking out of luxury brand retail stores with tons of shopping bags in their hand.

A recent Visa survey shows that affluent men in Singapore spend more on themselves than affluent women in Singapore, defying age-old gender stereotypes.

The survey shows Singapore-based affluent consumers’ spending habits, including the finding that Singapore men are bigger spenders than women when it comes to personal expenses, as well as shopping online.

Here's more from Visa:

On average, moneyed men spend S$1,601 a month on personal expenses compared with S$1,331 for women. When it comes to online shopping, the average spend is S$414 a month for men and S$374 for women, a difference of more than 10%. 

Ooi Huey Tyng, Visa Country Manager for Singapore and Brunei, said: “The Study shows that old stereotypes don’t hold true, and affluent men in Singapore are spending as much, or often more, than women. This has been a growing trend as shopping has become truly universal and new platforms such as online retail stores and mobile apps have increased opportunities for people to purchase goods and services.” 

The Visa Study also shows that affluent Singaporeans see a need to balance between material and non-material priorities. They consider time with family, having a work/life balance and staying healthy just as important as financial objectives like increased income, savings and planning for retirement. 

Another finding in the Study is that half of affluent Singaporeans spend less than S$2,000 a month on discretionary household expenses. 

For men and women together who save to spend on discretionary items, average monthly spending on personal expenses decreased by about 10% from S$ 1,639 in 2013 to S$ 1,472 in 2014. Online spending each month also decreased on average by 10%, from S$438 in 2013 to S$394 in 2014. However, online spending by women grew slightly from S$360 to S$ 374; a 4% year-on-year increase, while for men, it reduced from S$523 to S$414; a 21% year-on-year decrease.

Nearly a fifth of overall spending by affluent Singapore consumers is on F&B, the third highest in the Asia Pacific region and comparable to Japan (#1) and Hong Kong (#2). Groceries, F&B, local transportation and utilities and bills account for more than half of total monthly expenditure. 

“Visa recognises that spending is not a gender-specific activity, and luxury purchases and experiences are enjoyed by both men and women. Through the Visa Premium Access programme, Visa is able to bring the best privileges from around the world to Visa affluent cardholders in Singapore. Visa Premium cards offer both our Singapore male and female cardholders greater opportunities to experience the finer things in life,” said Tyng.