Survey Reveals Majority of Teens Love to Give, Receive Gift Cards

Business Wire, May 23, 2005

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. -- More than 93 percent of American teenagers of high school age have received one or more gift cards during the last 12 months, according to a survey released today of 600 college-bound teens.

Commissioned by Stored Value Systems, Inc. (SVS), a leading national gift card supplier and transaction processor, the study also reveals more than 67 percent of teens have purchased a gift card. They not only like to receive gift cards, but a majority believes in giving them as well.

According to the online survey, teens appear to be generous: almost two-thirds of teens spend up to 10 percent of their disposable income on gifts. And they like gift cards. The majority of teens saw the cards as a gift of first choice, not a fall-back item if nothing else could be found.

"Teen gift card purchasing frequency is almost identical to what we found for adults in a similar study we conducted last fall," Bob Skiba, SVS executive vice president and general manager, said. "However, teens receive gift cards at much, much higher levels. About one-fourth of adults say they have never received a gift card while only about 7 percent of teens have never received one. They're obviously very popular gift among this age group."

Birthdays are overwhelmingly cited as the most popular giving occasion for teens, which mirrors adult gift card purchasing behavior. For teens, the most popular gift card amount purchased is $25.

Apparel and music retailers were the preferred retail categories where teens purchase gift cards (nearly 65 percent of purchases). Retailers selling electronics and books, restaurants, video rental chains and movie theatres were reported as the next most frequented places for teens to buy gift cards for friends and family.

Among other key findings from the survey:

--59% of teens use up gift cards on the first visit, in the first month.

--More than half of teens leave money on a gift card unused, but it's usually an amount they call "insignificant " (almost half leave a dollar or less).

--77 percent like to give gift cards because they know the recipient can get what he/she would like at a favorite store.

--Like adults surveyed, presentation matters, with more than half of teen respondents indicating that the appearance and having a choice of gift card designs is important in their purchase decision.

--Gender plays no factor in the number of gift cards received, with 91 percent of boys and 95 percent of girls reporting having received at least one gift card during the last 12 months.

The survey was conducted online in March, 2005, involving 600 10th, 11th and 12th grade students roughly evenly divided by gender and class. The adult survey was conducted by phone last October and represented a random sampling of all adults 18 and older.

NOTE TO EDITORS: An excerpt of the study is available by contacting Comdata corporate communications at 1-800-COMDATA (266-3282), ext. 3, or dsamuels@comdata.com.

About Stored Value Systems

Since introducing the first-ever magnetic-striped retail gift card to shoppers in 1995, Stored Value Systems, Inc. (SVS) is one of the world's leading providers of electronic gift, loyalty, EBT and other stored value cards. Operating nationally and internationally, SVS creates customer loyalty, increased sales and stronger brand awareness through its gift and loyalty card programs. Headquartered in Louisville, Ky., SVS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comdata(R) Corporation. For more information, visit www.storedvalue.com.

About Comdata Corporation

Comdata(R) Corporation (www.comdata.com) is a leading business-to-business issuer and processor of payment cards, primarily in the retail and transportation industries. Comdata's range of products and services include fleet, fuel, purchasing, T&E, payroll/reimbursement, EBT, gift and loyalty cards and processing. A full-service merchant processor, Comdata's platforms support both its proprietary card networks as well as processing for any card tender a merchant may accept. Headquartered in Brentwood, Tenn., Comdata employs more than 1,500 people nationally and internationally. Comdata is a wholly owned subsidiary of Minneapolis-based Ceridian Corporation (NYSE: CEN).