Percentage of shoppers who feel retailers will offer better prices and discounts this year due to the current state of the economy, according to a Price Grabber survey: 66

Percentage of shoppers who said they started saving money before June to financially prepare for the gift-giving season: 21

Percentage who said it was acceptable to spend less on gifts because of the economy: 28

Source: PriceGrabber.com.

Number of billionaires in the United States, according to the inaugural Wealth-X and UBS Billionaire Census 2013: 515

Estimated net worth of these billionaires: $2 trillion

Ranks of New York (96 billionaires), Los Angeles (22), Chicago (21), San Francisco (20) and Houston (14) on the list of the super rich hotspots in the United States: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: Wealth-X.

From 2007 to 2009 and 2010 to 2012, of the 50 largest U.S. metropolitan areas, number where median home values fell, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 39

Of the metro areas with the largest declines (in dollar terms), number that were in California: 6

Number that were in Florida: 2

Of the 11 metro areas where median home values actually increased, number that were in Texas: 4

Source: Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends.

Percentage of consumers who admitted they have items in their closets that are still in shopping bags or have price tags, according to a poll by CreditDonkey.com: 24

Percentage who said they have frequent arguments over money: 18

Percentage who said their main reason for using credit cards is to pay for items when they don't have enough money: 19

Source: CreditDonkey.com.

Percentage of American workers who would rather receive a great holiday gift than have an office party -- an increase of 12 percent from last year, according to a survey conducted by Lands' End Business Outfitters: 78

Of the employees who give their boss a gift, percentage who give a group gift: 36

Source: Lands' End.

Of the U.S. employers who are hiring seasonal workers, percentage who plan to transition some into full-time, permanent staff -- up 10 percentage points over last year, according to CareerBuilder's annual survey: 49

Ranks of retail, information technology, leisure and hospitality, and financial services on the list of employers who also plan to hire seasonal staff : 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of people in 24 countries who agree (give a rating of four or five on a five-point agreement scale) that they "care what efforts brands are making to help the environment," according to findings in a poll conducted by Ipsos OTX: 52

Ranks of Argentina (70 percent), Mexico (68 percent), Indonesia (66 percent), South Africa (62 percent) and Germany (60 percent) on the list of countries most likely to agree they care about the efforts of brands to help the environment: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Rank of the United States on the list (51 percent): 14

Source: Ipsos Open Thinking.

Percentage of brand-specific gift cards that charge purchase fees, versus 100 percent of general-purpose gift cards, according to research released by Bankrate.com: 11

Of the 55 widely held brand-specific cards that include retailers, restaurants, airlines and gas stations, number that charge a purchase fee to all customers: 3

Source: Bankrate Inc.

Percentage of households in America that have damaged a laptop, phone, camera or tablet during the holidays, according to SquareTrade's holiday survey: 12.5

Percentage of damages during the holiday season that are attributed to holiday activities -- traveling (22 percent), shopping (12 percent), cooking (10 percent) and decorating (7 percent): 51

Source: SquareTrade.

Percentage of Americans who will make traditional phone calls as the preferred way to communicate with family and friends this holiday season, according to a Cricket Wireless national survey: 46

Percentage who will use digital messaging: 45

Percentage of Americans who agree that electronic messaging has replaced traditional acknowledgments using pen and paper: 85

Source: Sentient.

Idle Thought

"Half of the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm but the harm does not interest them." -- T.S. Eliot

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)

Percentage of consumers who plan to spend more than half of their total holiday shopping budgets during the Black Friday/Cyber Monday period, according to a study by CFI Group: 25

Source: CFI Group.

Amount of money Twitter co-founder Evan Williams added to his personal fortune after the company's frenzied trading debut at the New York Stock Exchange on Nov. 7, boosting his net worth to approximately $2.5 billion, according to a Wealth-X estimate: $1.075 billion

Estimated number of Twitter shares owned by Williams: 57 million

Source: Wealth-X.

Percentage of consumers who define their style of shopping as taking it slow and always finishing with everything they need, according to the Alliance Data Retail Services Holiday Habits Survey: 28

Percentage who buy throughout the year and hide gifts until the holiday: 23

Percentage who say they methodically make lists and buy only the items on their lists, or browse online so they know what they are going to buy and get the best price when they go to the store: 12

Source: Alliance Data Retail Services.

Ranks of a portable music player, desktop computer, GPS device and a regular cellphone on the list of items holiday gift-givers plan to buy in the next five years, according to to RetailMeNot's Black Friday Tech Report: 1 (tie), 3, 4

Percentage of consumers who feel that children should have their own cellphone at age 13 or younger: 46

Percentage of consumers who feel that children should have their own tablet at age 13: 44

Source: RetailMeNot.com.

Percentage of Americans who say they witnessed someone else leave a public restroom without washing their hands, according to a survey by the Bradley Corp.: 81

Percentage who said the same last year: 74

Source: Bradley Corp.

Projected total e-commerce spending for November and December 2013, an increase of 15 percent over 2012, according to Logicalis U.S.: $61.8 billion

Percentage of retailers that have dedicated resources to upgrade e-commerce platforms in anticipation of the holiday season: 81

Percentage of retailers that have significantly increased in-store data collection and analysis compared to two years ago: 60

Source: Logicalis U.S.

Expected percentage growth in high-wage occupations, according to a report by CareerBuilder and Economic Modeling Specialists: 5

Percentage of the 165 occupations expected to lose jobs nationally that are in the middle-wage category: 75

Projected percentage growth in associate degree and master's degree occupations: 8

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of college graduates who are gaining employment related to their major, according to a survey by Pipeliner: 27

Source: PMBC Group.

Percentage of U.S. adults who have no plan to shop on Black Friday this year, according to a poll conducted on behalf of Offers.com: 47

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of consumers who plan to shop at the same retailers as they did last year, according to the results of Price Grabber survey: 69

When asked why, percentage who said they would remain loyal to certain retailers because of good customer service: 70

Source: PriceGrabber.com.

Idle Thought

"A quiet conscience sleeps in thunder." -- English proverb

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)

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.)