The Economic Climate Means Taking a Bath and 'Staycation' Will be Popular in the US and UK Over Easter Weekend

LONDON, April 2, 2010 - Retail Decisions (ReD), a world leader in payment fraud prevention,
reports a hike in online home improvement purchases in both the UK and US
ahead of the Easter Weekend. This rise suggests that the current economic
fragility is leading consumers on both sides of the pond to tighten their
belts and stay at home, this Easter.

Carl Clump, CEO of ReD says, "UK data shows more than a 60% increase in
the number of online transactions for DIY products in the lead up to Easter
this year versus the same period before Easter in 2009. Interestingly, UK
online sales of DIY items were up three-fold during weekends in March and,
moreover, the average value of each transaction also increased by GBP112 from
GBP253 to GBP365. In the US, the rise in home improvement purchases over the
internet was 44% but, conversely, the average transaction value decreased by
$27 from to $240 to $213."

Carl further comments, "There is a clear shift in consumer trends towards
buying home improvement products online. Internet purchases allow customers
to have the goods delivered directly to their door, both saving time and
avoiding the Easter weekend rush at the tills. There is no wasted trip if an
item is out of stock and there is the added advantage of online discounts and
easy price comparisons."

ReD's data shows that the top two most popular home improvement
activities in the UK were kitchen upgrades and bathroom remodelling. The
third most popular product category was storage furniture and wardrobes. It
seems that the weak housing market is prompting people to make their home
environments more pleasant rather than relocating. The popularity of storage
furniture appears to highlight that people are reorganising their homes to
optimise the space they already have.

In the US, tools and garden furniture represent the top two product
categories followed by garden plants.

Notes for editors:

About ReD

Retail Decisions (ReD) is a world leader in card fraud prevention,
payment processing and card issuing. A specialist supplier to the payments
industry worldwide, ReD has over 20 years experience in the fraud prevention
market Its blue-chip international clients come from the global
telecommunications, retail, travel, petroleum, banking and the broader
e-commerce sectors. They include, Air China, Bloomingdale's, Coles, Comet,
Fedex, John Lewis, Louis Vuitton, Macy's, Sears, Shell, Shoprite, Target,
Tesco, Texaco, Travelocity, T-Mobile, Wal-Mart and Virgin Mobile.

The company has offices in Australia, China, Germany, South Africa,
United Kingdom, and United States, with representation in India, Korea,
Japan, and South America.

More information about ReD please visit: www.redplc.com

Contacts: Kami Boyer, Head of Group Marketing, Retail Decisions Ltd, Tel: +44(0)7900-577276, Email: kboyer at redplc.com; Angela Yore, PR Office, SkyParlour Limited, Mobile: +44(0)7738-822956, Email : angela at skyparlour.com