Rank of Valentine's Day on the list of the biggest holiday/season for the $22 billion U.S. chocolate candy industry, according to market research firm Packaged Facts: 3
Ranks of Christmas and Halloween: 1, 2
Source: Packaged Facts.
Percentage of Americans (29 million) who are currently hiding a checking, savings or credit card account from their live-in partner or spouse, according to a new CreditCards.com report: 19
Percentage who used to hide such an account from their current romantic partner, but no longer do: 3
Percentage who believe that keeping a secret bank or credit card account is at least equal in severity to physical cheating -- includes 1 in 5 who think it's worse: 55
Source: CreditCards.com.
Percentage of small business owners who report they do not use technology to its full capacity, thereby missing opportunities to improve productivity and operational efficiencies, according to a study by Oasis: 42
Percentage who stated, "We do not use any technology in my business on a weekly basis": 13
Percentage who say they "limit the use of it because they are just too busy getting the job done each day": 10
Source: Oasis.
Ranks of M&M's "Bad Passengers," Amazon Alexa's "Not Everything Makes the Cut," and Microsoft's "We All Win" on the list of best-liked Super Bowl ads, according to a survey by Suzy: 1, 2, 3
Source: Suzy.
Percentage of pet owners who say they would rather spend a day with their pet than their significant other, according to a Purina survey: 13
Percentage of pet owners who say they're likely to post a picture of their pet on social media for Valentine's Day: 41
Percentage who are likely to organize a Valentine's Day themed dinner date with their pet: 20
Source: Purina.
Percentage of currently employed U.S. adults who say they have experienced job burnout, according to a University of Phoenix Survey: 55
Percentage who say they have taken days off for mental health: 34
Percentage who say they have taken time off for physical ailments: 61
Ranks of anxiety (67 percent), fatigue (66 percent), depression (58 percent) and anger (55 percent) on the list of signs of job burnout: 1, 2, 3, 4
Source: University of Phoenix.
Percentage of U.S. consumers who view automation as having more benefits than drawbacks, according to an Ipsos survey: 48
Percentage who see it making life easier and more interesting: 67
Percentage who find that automation has made products and services better: 53
Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.
Estimated number of Americans who will get an unwanted Valentine's Day gift in 2019, which equates to about 17 percent of the population, according to research by Finder.com: 43 million
Estimated amount Americans will be spending on gifts nobody wants: $9.5 billion
Source: Finder.com.
Percentage of people who are likely to research a company and its products if they value the content it produces and markets, according to a survey published by Clutch: 55
Among the people who value content marketing, percentage who have purchased a business's products or services because of content marketing: 86
Source: Clutch.
Percentage of pet owners who say traveling with their pets sometimes causes conflict with the friends or family they're visiting, according to an Ipsos poll: 40
Percentage who will decline an invitation if they can't bring their pet: 20
Percentage of people who say if a guest's pet misbehaves, they will ask the the guest to leave: 40
Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.
Idle Thought
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage." -- Lao Tzu
(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca.)