Global Prepaid Exchange Announces That New Look Tops Consumer Poll of Best UK Gift Cards

Hot on the Trail of the US Consumer Poll, New Research Shows Which Gift Cards UK Consumers Really Want.

LONDON, April 22, 2010 - When it comes to the gift cards that UK consumers want to receive, New
Look comes out on top, according to the Gift Card Performance Index just
released by the Global Prepaid Exchange, an independent research and advisory
group with offices in the UK and the US. Based on a representative sample of
more than 1400 adults, the survey assessed levels of performance for gift
cards received this past Christmas season.

Whilst New Look claimed the top spot, it edged out iTunes and Amazon by
the narrowest of margins. All these favourites had very high levels of
satisfaction and were the cards that recipients would most recommend to
others. Factors such as retailer preferences and service levels were directly
related to which cards consumers chose as their favourites.

The study's principal investigator, Professor Dan Horne of Providence
College in Rhode Island, USA, was not surprised by the findings and said the
high levels of consumer performance result from an interaction between the
store and the gift giver's perception of the tastes of the recipient. "If a
gift card giver really thinks about the kinds of store that a recipient
likes, they will certainly make the experience more rewarding," Horne noted.
"Gift cards tend to be effective gifts because they show thought about the
type of stores that recipients like, while still promoting a sense of
autonomy and choice."

In other categories, electronics/entertainment was the strongest group
with four top 10 places (iTunes, Amazon, Game and Waterstone's). M&S claimed
the best department store rating while the top grocery chain was Sainsbury's.

The study was conducted by Horne and Professor Patricia Norberg during
the first week of April 2010. Respondents were queried on their experience
and attitudes about particular gift card programmes. Special emphasis was
placed on investigating the consumers' actual usage of the cards.

The Top 10 Gift Cards:

        1 New Look
        2 iTunes
        3 Amazon
        4 M&S
        5 Game
        6 Primark
        7 Debenhams
        8 Boots
        9 Sainsbury's
       10 Waterstone's

With offices in the UK and the US, the Global Prepaid Exchange is an
independent organisation that helps its members better understand today's
complex economic environment by providing research and advisory services.
Its membership is involved in issuing, processing, manufacturing or
distributing in 75% of the world's prepaid programmes and includes
American Express, MasterCard, First Data, Incomm, Salans, CPI Card Group,
IGH Solutions, Ceridian Stored Value Solutions, Serverside Group, and
Blackhawk Network among others.

For more information please contact Casey McGrath, at +353-1-443-4492 or
casey.mcgrath@globalprepaidexchange.com

For more information please contact Casey McGrath, at +353-1-443-4492 or
casey.mcgrath at globalprepaidexchange.com