Discover Card Fall Shopping Survey Reveals Thirty-One Percent Of Consumers Plan To Spend Over $300 During Fall Shopping Season

July 31, 2006
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.

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CONTACT:

Laura Gingiss
Discover Financial Services LLC
224-405-0185
lauragingiss@discoverfinancial.com