Percentage of consumers who report that the state of the economy will have some impact on their holiday shopping this year, according to a poll conducted on behalf of Offers.com: 66
Of those, percentage who say that it will motivate them to seek out bargains and coupons this holiday season: 41
Percentage of U.S. adults who make a holiday gift list: 51
Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.
In the United States, number of cars and light trucks on the road in 2013, according to the latest Vehicles in Operation (VIO) market analysis announced by Experian Automotive: 247.9 million
Average age of vehicles on the road in the second quarter of the 2013 fiscal year, almost a full year older than was recorded in the second quarter of fiscal 2009: 10.9 years
Source: Experian Public Relations.
Percentage of young adults who use their friends' financial habits to determine their own, according to a survey by AICPA and the Ad Council: 78
Percentage of these young adults who say they want to keep pace with their peers on where they live: 66
Percentage who say the same thing about what they wear: 64
Source: The Ad Council.
Percentage of employed Americans who hit the snooze button at least once a week, according to a survey by Royal Phillips: 50
Percentage who skipped breakfast: 50
Source: Royal Phillips.
Percentage of U.S. consumers who use some kind of shopping list (68 percent specifically use or bring a paper list) to stay organized, according to a survey conducted by Synqera: 92
While most Americans frequently make unplanned purchases, percentage who describe themselves as impulsive shoppers: 50
Source: Synqera.
Percentage of Americans who say they didn't allocate any savings toward holiday gift buying this year, according to GoBankingRates.com polls: 63
Percentage who said they had saved over $1,000 for their holiday gift shopping: 12
Source: GoBankingRates.com.
Percentage of brides who considered planning their wedding on the last expected iconic wedding dates for this year, 11-12-13 (Nov. 12 in U.S. dating format; Dec. 11 in international dating format), according to the David's Bridal annual survey, "What's on Brides' Minds": 40
Final consecutive series of the century will occur next year: 12-13-14
Estimated number of couples who tied the knot on 07-07-07: 65,000
Source: David's Bridal Inc.
Year that push-button, or touch-tone, phones made their debut, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1963
In 1963, percentage of U.S. homes that had telephones: 81
Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
Percentage of business decision-makers who believe their internal IT organizations have the ability to regularly deliver projects on time and on budget, according a commissioned study conducted on behalf of EffectiveUI: 39
Percentage of IT leaders who cite ever-changing business and user requirements as one of the top reasons they struggle to keep up: 56
Percentage who say they are trying to do too much at once: 50
Source: EffectiveUI.
Percentage of shoppers who would like to receive home decor or furniture-related gifts under the tree this year, according to the National Retail Foundation: 20.8
Source: NRF.
Idle Thought
"Show me a hero and I will write you a tragedy." -- F. Scott Fitzgerald, novelist
(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)