Riverwoods, IL, July 31, 2006
– Discover Card today released findings from its
Fall Shopping Survey, which explored consumer
purchasing plans for the upcoming fall season.
The survey found that 31 percent of consumers
plan to spend $300 or more on essential fall items
such as clothing, home décor, home office and
school supplies, while 16 percent plan to spend
$500 or more. When asked what they liked least
about fall shopping, 22 percent cited difficulties
staying within their budget, while 20 percent
said they purchase more than they need.
“Fall is one of the highest spend shopping
seasons of the year, second only to the holidays.
This can be both exciting and stressful for consumers
trying to stick to a budget,” said Margo Georgiadis,
Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer
of Discover Financial Services. “Consumers want
to make sure that they're spending their money
wisely as they prepare for this busy time of the
year. We want to help them make their money go
further by making their important fall purchases
more affordable and rewarding.”
To help
Cardmembers better manage essential fall purchases,
Discover Card's “Get Set for Fall” program offers
them 5%
Cashback Bonus from July through
September at top national retailer partners on
everything from apparel to home to office/school
supplies. The savings can even be applied to
tuition, from pre-school to college.
Fall
Fashion Reigns Supreme; Anticipation for New School
Year Drives Purchases The Discover
Card Fall Shopping Survey also uncovered trends
regarding popular product categories, preferred
payment methods and overall attitudes regarding
fall shopping.
Top survey findings include:
- School supplies will be the second
most popular purchase after clothing, with 15
percent of consumers saying they will spend the
majority of their fall funds on back-to-school
gear. Within the group of respondents who have
children, this figure jumps to 26 percent.
- Sixty-eight
percent of consumers surveyed will pay for their
fall purchases with cash or checks, while 31 percent
will use credit cards. Sixteen percent plan to
use their credit card rewards to pay for purchases.
- When
asked what they liked most about fall shopping,
27 percent of consumers cited simply getting it
over and done with. Within the group of respondents
that have children, 30 percent said what they
liked most is getting their children ready for
the school year.
- Tuition continues to
be a significant expense in the fall, and one
that's rising – 62 percent of consumers said the
cost is going up or skyrocketing.
Children's
Influence on Adult Purchasing Decisions
The Discover Card Fall Shopping Survey
also looked at the most successful tactics children
use to influence adults and obtain their “must-have”
items off of their shopping wish lists:
- No
need to pout – almost 40 percent of adults in
households with a child under 18 noted a simple,
polite request from children as the single best
way to get parents to spend more.
- Negotiating
works – 30 percent of adults in households with
a child under 18 ranked bartering for chores,
good grades and improved behaviors as the most
successful tactics children employ when trying
to persuade them to spend more.
About
the Discover Card Fall Shopping Survey
For the Discover Card Fall Shopping Survey,
a telephone survey was conducted among a national
probability sample of 1,031 adults (509 men and
522 women). The research was conducted from July
14-17, 2006 by Opinion Research Corporation.
About Discover Financial Services
LLC Discover Financial Services
LLC, a business unit of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:
MS), operates the Discover Card with more than
50 million Cardmembers, and the Discover Network
with more than 4 million merchant and cash access
locations. Discover Financial Services also operates
the PULSE ATM/debit network, which serves over
4,200 financial institutions and includes almost
250,000 ATMs and approximately 3.4 million POS
terminals. For more information, visit
www.discovercard.com,
www.discovernetwork.com
or
www.pulse-eft.com.
# # #
CONTACT:
Laura Gingiss
Discover Financial Services
LLC
224-405-0185
lauragingiss@discoverfinancial.com