Consumers Opt for Staples With Tax Rebate Checks

* The largest increase in spending will be seen at the pump, where 17.2 million people plan to use some of the money to pay for gasoline, up from 12.1 million people in February;

* 21.2 million people plan to use a portion of the check for food, up from 20.4 million people in February;

* several product areas saw their shares of the market decline over the past three months, including furniture (2.7 million people planning to buy vs. 4.0 million earlier), automobiles (2.4 million vs. 3.2 million) and salons/spas (2.9 million vs. 3.5 million);