Consumers More Likely to Cut Discretionary Spending Than Use Alternative Transportation When Gas Prices Rise, According to Discover Survey.$1 increase would cause nearly half of Americans to seek a more fuel efficient vehicle RIVERWOODS, Ill. -- Nine out of ten American adults claim they are paying close attention to the rising cost of gasoline gasoline or petrol, light, volatile mixture of hydrocarbons for use in the internal-combustion engine and as an organic solvent, obtained primarily by fractional distillation and "cracking" of petroleum, but also obtained from natural gas, by , according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a Discover survey. In fact, two-thirds can quote the per gallon gallon: see English units of measurement. price within 30 cents. While nearly half of car owners said they are willing to buy a more fuel efficient car should gas prices increase $1, a strong majority ruled out using alternative transportation to offset rising gas prices and are more likely to cut discretionary spending. According to the new survey conducted as part of the Discover([R]) Spending Confidence Monitor(sm), 80 percent of Americans find their car very important in their everyday lives. This may explain why car owners are ready to sacrifice non-essential items in their lives rather than their cars if gas prices increase $1. Cutbacks Would Most Likely Affect Vacations, Entertainment Spending, Major Purchases According to the survey: * 70 percent of car owners said they will cut back on entertainment spending if gas prices were to increase a dollar, * 66 percent said they will change their vacation plans, and * 64 percent said they will postpone post·pone tr.v. post·poned, post·pon·ing, post·pones 1. To delay until a future time; put off. See Synonyms at defer1. 2. To place after in importance; subordinate. a major purchase "It appears the first line of defense to lessen less·en v. less·ened, less·en·ing, less·ens v.tr. 1. To make less; reduce. 2. Archaic To make little of; belittle. v.intr. To become less; decrease. the impact of rising gas prices is expense management," said Ed Stolbof, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Discover Financial Services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. ." "Consumers are likely to cut back discretionary spending, but rising gas prices may force some to go a step further by cutting into living expenses as well." Stolbof also noted that more than half (52 percent) of those polled said they were somewhat or very likely to cut back on grocery spending if gas prices rose a $1. Alternative Transportation Would Not Be a Popular Option Although 75 percent of car owners said they were likely to drive less if gas prices increased $1, there seems to be little support for alternative transportation. The Discover Survey reported: * 61 percent were not very or at all likely to walk or ride a bicycle bicycle, light, two-wheeled vehicle driven by pedals. The name velocipede is often given to early forms of the bicycle and to its predecessor, the dandy horse, a two-wheeled vehicle moved by the thrust of the rider's feet upon the ground. * Less than one in four (24 percent) were somewhat or very likely to take public transportation Carpooling was the most popular option as 45 percent of consumers said they were somewhat or very likely to carpool car·pool n. also car pool 1. An arrangement whereby several participants or their children travel together in one vehicle, the participants sharing the costs and often taking turns as the driver. 2. . Women More Likely Than Men to Take Eco-Friendly Measures Although responses from last month's survey were remarkably consistent across gender, income and age, there were some notable contrasts. Women are more likely than men to take eco-friendly measures when it comes to driving. According to the Survey: * 59 percent of women said they would be 'very likely' to drive less compared to just forty-one percent of men if gas rose a dollar * Nearly one-third (29 percent) of women also were more likely to use carpools versus 21 percent for men As Gas Prices Increase, So Does Demand for Fuel Efficient Cars While the survey revealed alternative transportation would be very popular should gas prices increase $1, rising gas prices may give incentive for car owners to swap gas guzzling vehicles for more fuel efficient cars. The Discover Survey reported: * Half (50 percent) of car owners are driving vehicles that get less than 20 miles per gallon Noun 1. miles per gallon - the distance traveled in a vehicle powered by one gallon of gasoline or diesel fuel unit, unit of measurement - any division of quantity accepted as a standard of measurement or exchange; "the dollar is the United States unit of * A like number (47 percent) said they are somewhat or very likely to buy a more fuel efficient car if gas prices rose a dollar "Nearly 60 percent of consumers are paying more than $100 a month for gas," said Stolbof. "As gas prices rise, our survey shows discretionary spending and even living expenses will most likely be reduced. But a dollar increase in gas prices may have a positive impact on the environment as almost half of the car owners surveyed said they would be somewhat or very likely to buy a more fuel efficient car." (Note: The average price for regular unleaded was $3.14 at the time of the survey) About Discover Financial Services Discover Financial Services, a business unit of Morgan Stanley  To comply with Wikipedia's , the introduction of this article needs a complete rewrite. (NYSE NYSESee: New York Stock Exchange : MS), operates the Discover Card with more than 50 million cardmembers, the Discover Network with millions of merchant and cash access locations, and the Goldfish credit card business in the United Kingdom. Discover Financial Services also operates the PULSE ATM/debit network, which serves more than 4,400 financial institutions and includes nearly 260,000 ATMs, as well as POS (1) See point of sale and packet over SONET. (2) "Parent over shoulder." See digispeak. POS - point of sale terminals, nationwide. For more information, visit www.discoverfinancial.com, www.discovercard.com, www.discovernetwork.com or www.pulse-eft.com. |
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