Percentage of kids who said they would clean their room daily for a year to get the toys they want for Christmas, according to a Wal-Mart survey: 68
Percentage who said they would work hard and give up playtime: 84
Percentage of kids who would eat spinach for a year: 23
Source: Wal-Mart Media Relations.
Percentage of managers who have fired an employee for holiday shopping at work, according to a survey by CareerBuilder: 7
Percentage of hiring managers who have fired an employee for something they posted on social media: 11
Percentage of hiring managers who have fired someone for sending non-work-related emails: 11
Source: CareerBuilder.com.
Percentage of British lottery winners who would head to the U.S., the top vacation destination for winners of at least a million British pounds, according to a study conducted by lottery operator Camelot and Oxford Economics: 27
Percentage who would choose trips to areas in the Caribbean, such as Jamaica: 9
Ranks of the Canary Islands, Dubai and Mallorca on the list of top destinations chosen by U.K. lottery winners: 3, 4, 5
Source: Holiday Hypermarket.
Of those consumers who indicated that they will spend more money this holiday season compared with last year, percentage who said they are making more money this year, according to the results of PriceGrabber's first holiday shopping survey: 42
Percentage who attributed their decision to better prices on gifts: 34
Percentage of shoppers who said they will spend more due to increased credit limit: 13
Percentage who are tired of being frugal: 8
Source: PriceGrabber.com.
Percentage of women who say they have no regrets when it comes to holiday spending, according to Women & Co./Real Simple Survey: 60
Percentage of women who called themselves bargain-hunters who visit several retailers and clip coupons to get the best price, and look for creative ways to prioritize and save: 40
Source: Women & Co.
Ranks of Orlando, Fla., New York City, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Denver on the list of top Christmas destinations, according to Orbitz: 1, 2, 3, 4
Percentage of Americans who plan to travel this holiday season: 68
Source: Orbitz.
Percentage of consumers who spend less than an hour hunting for the best prices for their holiday purchases, according to a poll conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of Offers.com: 60
Percentage who say that they spend one to three hours: 25
Percentage who report spending over three hours: 8
Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.
Percentage of consumers who say a printed book is better for reading to a child, compared to an e-book (9 percent), according to Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Reading Habits Survey: 81
Percentage who say a printed book is better for sharing with friends than an e-book (25 percent): 69
Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project.
Percentage of online shoppers who typically shop between working hours (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.), according to a survey by Monitis: 40
Source: Monitis.
Percentage of consumers who choose to splurge on others rather than on themselves during the holidays, according to a ShopAtHome.com Survey: 66
Percentage who admit to treating themselves to one item, but only if it's on sale: 30
Percentage of consumers who plan to allocate most of their holiday shopping budget to children: 72
Source: ShopAtHome.com.
Idle Thought
"If you do not tell the truth about yourself, you cannot tell it about other people." -- Virginia Woolf
(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)