Discover® Card Valentine’s Day Shopping Survey Finds Men Will Spend 72 Percent More Than Women On Gifts This February 14 A “Night on the Town” Ranks Highest on the Wish List for Men and Women; Men Also Want Music, Books or DVDs; Women Prefer Flowers over Lingerie February 07, 2006 February 7, 2006, Riverwoods, IL -- As men and women across the country prepare to purchase gifts for their loved ones for this Valentine’s Day, Discover® Card released its first Valentine’s Day Shopping Survey highlighting consumer shopping trends and intentions for the upcoming holiday. According to the survey results, men will outspend women on gifts. Men who plan to purchase a Valentine’s Day gift indicated they intend to spend an average of $127.00, which is 72 percent more than women, who plan to spend an average of $74.00. “Consumers are faced with an abundance of choices when looking for the perfect Valentine’s Day gift,” said Margo Georgiadis, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Discover Financial Services. “We hope our new shopping survey will help consumers get more from their purchases, and give merchants insight into how to provide a winning shopping experience.” Store Sales Encourage More Valentine’s Day Spending The majority of men (54 percent) and women (58 percent) surveyed overwhelmingly agree that retailers’ sales encourage them to spend more during the Valentine’s Day holiday. In terms of their shopping habits, women continue to remain the traditional “bargain hunters” when shopping this Valentine’s Day. In fact, of the women surveyed, 40 percent said that coupons or rebates would play a role in shopping decisions for a holiday like Valentine’s Day, whereas only 35 percent of men would take such factors into consideration. Georgiadis also noted that consumers can extend their buying power by taking advantage of credit card rewards programs. “At Discover, Cardmembers can earn cash rewards on every single purchase this Valentine’s Day, ” said Georgiadis. “They also have the ability to double their rewards when they redeem with many of our 50 brand-name Partners.” Lingerie and Candy Take a Backseat to a “Night on the Town” When questioned as to what they planned to give for the Valentine holiday, the majority of men (71 percent) said they would treat their special someone to a night on the town, including an outing to a restaurant, club or show. Not surprisingly, flowers also ranked high on men’s probable gifts lists, with 66 percent saying they would purchase them for their sweethearts. On the other hand, the survey found that the majority of women (53 percent) are more inclined to purchase entertainment products such as music, books or DVDs for their Valentines, while only 39 percent of men would be doing the same. When asked what they hoped to receive, both men and women (62 percent) said a night on the town was their preferred gift. Interestingly, other high-ranking gifts on men’s wish lists included entertainment products (45 percent) and candy (26 percent), whereas women would most like to receive flowers (55 percent) and jewelry (44 percent). Additional Findings Reveal Valentine’s Day Shopping Insights and Trends Most people surveyed (65 percent) will make their Valentine’s Day purchases at least a week before the holiday, but one in 10 men will wait until February 14. Of those surveyed, more than one-third of women (39%) plan to spend nothing on their significant others this Valentine’s Day. While stores remain the primary place consumers purchase Valentine’s Day gifts, the survey found that men are more inclined than women to buy their Valentine’s Day gift online. Twenty- two percent of men surveyed said they would do so, while just 15 percent of women said the same. Over half of both men and women surveyed, 53 percent, said they would use debit and credit cards while shopping for Valentine’s gifts. When it comes to advice on what to buy for the holiday, half of both men and women hold their friends’ opinions in the highest regard. About the Survey The results of the Discover Card Valentine’s Day Shopping Survey are from a telephone survey of 1,016 adult Americans, conducted January 26-29, 2006, by Opinion Research Corporation’s CARAVAN omnibus. The margin of error at the 95 percent confidence level is plus or minus three percentage points for results based on the entire sample. Results based on smaller sub-samples will have a larger margin of error. 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, the Discover Network with more than 4 million merchant and cash access locations and the PULSE ATM/debit network which serves more than 4,100 financial institutions and includes more than 3.2 million merchant terminals and 250,000 ATMs. For more information, visit www.discovercard.com, www.discovernetwork.com or www.pulse-eft.com. # # # Contact: Mai-Lee Ua Discover Financial Services (224) 405-3082