oddities

Figuratively Speaking for July 17, 2020

Figuratively Speaking by by John MacIntyre
by John MacIntyre
Figuratively Speaking | July 17th, 2020

Number of hours per week consumers spent watching online video in 2017, according to Parks Associates: 3.6

Number of hours spent watching online video today: 7

Percentage by which traditional pay-TV service has declined during the same period (from an adoption rate of 75% to 62%): 17.33

Source: Parks Associates.

Percentage of Americans who are planning an overnight vacation or leisure travel in 2020, according to a survey conducted by Morning Consult commissioned by the American Hotel and Lodging Association: 44

Percentage who plan to take their first overnight trip by the end of the summer: 59

Percentage who plan to stay with family or friends: 43

Source: American Hotel and Lodging Association.

Average annual expenditure on groceries in the U.S. per person, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics as reported by Varo Money: $4,464

Average amount spent on dining out: $3,459

Source: Varo Money.

Percentage of men who admit to financial infidelity (having a secret account or spending a larger amount than their spouse might be comfortable with) with their current partners, compared to 43% of women, according to CreditCards.com: 47

Source: CreditCards.com.

Percentage of U.S. adults who adopted a dog at some point during the first three-month period of COVID-19, according to data from Packaged Facts: 5

Percentage of the market for pet food, non-food pet supplies, veterinary services and non-medical pet services accounted for by dogs: 66

Source: Packaged Facts.

Number of times more likely a divorced woman is to say her overall lifestyle in retirement is worse than she expected it to be prior to retirement than a married woman, according to Employee Benefit Research Institute: 2

Percentage of divorced women who say their lifestyle in retirement is better than expected: 25

Percentage of married women who say the same: 36

Source: EBRI.

Percentage of Americans who say they had to resort to more desperate measures to deal with medical expenses, according to a Bankrate.com report: 28

Ranks of taking on substantial debt, borrowing money from friends or family, or tapping into retirement savings on the list of ways they used to combat these expenses: 1, 2, 3

Source: Bankrate.com.

Percentage of parents who are concerned about their children's privacy online, according to research by Startpage: 98

While parents feel the majority of the responsibility for protecting their children online falls to them, percentage who admitted to not feeling able, or only sometimes feeling able, to control their children's privacy online: 68

Percentage who said they didn't know companies could exploit their children's data for commercial gain: 36

Source: Startpage.

Percentage of Americans who don't anticipate buying an electric car in the near future, according to a survey commissioned by ValuePenguin: 74

Percentage who would be more likely to pay more money for a car that came equipped with automated safety features (Bluetooth, backup cameras and assisted self-driving): 43.3

Percentage of Americans who would spend extra for a car that would automatically parallel park for them: 48

Source: ValuePenguin.com.

Percentage of Americans who said they would eat more plant-based foods if they cost less than meat options, according to a survey by Earth Day Network and the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication: 63

Percentage who would do so if they tasted better: 67

Source: Earth Day Network.

Idle Thought

"Making money isn't hard in itself. What's hard is to earn it doing something worth devoting one's life to." -- Carlos Ruiz Zafon

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

oddities

Figuratively Speaking for July 10, 2020

Figuratively Speaking by by John MacIntyre
by John MacIntyre
Figuratively Speaking | July 10th, 2020

Percentage of American small business owners who say they are fearful of reclosing amid the COVID-19 pandemic, up from 17% in May, according to a survey by Alignable: 41

Percentage of PPP loan recipients who say they're almost out of money: 43

Percentage of small businesses that never got federal funding that say their cash reserves could be gone by the end of July: 69

Source: Alignable.

Percentage of people age 50 and older who have been contacted by a government impostor, according to a survey by AARP: 45

Of the 2 in 5 U.S. adults who are using dating websites, percentage who encountered one of the "red flags" of romance fraud, including requests for money: 50

Percentage of survey respondents who failed a 10-question fraud safety quiz: 55

Source: AARP.

Percentage of professionals who say their organizations have revised their travel policies, according to a survey from VitalSmarts: 43

Percentage who report having more online meetings: 33

Percentage who have a new plan for video-based meetings and sales calls: 17

Source: VitalSmarts.

Percentage of respondents who agree that they never learned the majority of their day-to-day job duties in school, according to a survey conducted by The Harris Poll and commissioned by Express Employment Professionals: 77

Source: Express Employment Professionals.

Percentage of consumers who are "certain" that they understand how the coronavirus spreads, according to Colling Media: 48

Percentage who say they are closely following news about the coronavirus: 74

Source: Colling Media.

Percentage of individual donors who say they plan to give money to small business (directly or via crowdfunding), according to research from BBB's Give.org: 24

Percentage who say they will look for ways to help unemployed individuals directly: 25

Source: BBB Wise Giving Alliance.

Percentage of U.S. adults with unused gift cards or store credits who have held onto at least one credit for more than a year, according to a Bankrate.com survey: 57

Percentage who have allowed a gift card to expire at some point: 25

Percentage who have regifted a gift card: 23

Source: Bankrate.com.

Percentage of U.S. residents who work remotely more frequently after moving to a new metro area, according to a new survey conducted by Redfin: 25

Percentage who work remotely sometimes or always after their move, compared with just 44% who worked remotely before the move: 52

Source: Redfin.

Percentage of people who incorrectly believe paper towels, receipts and aluminum foil can be recycled, according to research commissioned by ecoATM Gazelle: 36

Percentage who think to-go coffee cups can be, too: 31

According to the research, percentage of people who were unaware devices such as laptops, cellphones and tablets could be recycled: 57

Source: ecoATM Gazelle.

Idle Thought

"To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men." -- Ella Wheeler Wilcox, poet

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

oddities

Figuratively Speaking for July 02, 2020

Figuratively Speaking by by John MacIntyre
by John MacIntyre
Figuratively Speaking | July 2nd, 2020

Percentage of Americans who view longer life as a plus for the economy, according to a poll from the Longevity Project and Morning Consult, developed in collaboration with the Stanford Center on Longevity: 53

Percentage who agree that older workers are good mentors: 84

Percentage who agree that they are more mature in their dealings with co-workers and display stronger organizational citizenship: 77

Percentage who also believe that work quality improves with age: 66

Source: Longevity Project.

Among all college graduates in the U.S. who would change their major if they had the ability to go back, percentage who said the primary reason was "I want to pursue my passion," according to a report from BestColleges: 26

Percentage who said, "I want better/more job opportunities": 25

Percentage who said, "I want better compensation or benefits": 14

Percentage of all respondents who said their education had no value at all: 4

Source: BestColleges.

Rank of distraction and noise (48%) and a lack of privacy (48%) on the list of challenges in coworking environments, according to a survey from Clutch: 1 (tied)

Ranks of limited space and insufficient equipment: 3, 4

Source: Clutch.

Percentage of U.S. mortgage holders who say the size of their mortgage has a negative impact on their ability to save money for the future, according to a Bankrate.com survey: 77

Percentage of homeowners who say the equity in their home is higher than their retirement savings accounts (including 401(k) or IRA): 39

Source: Bankrate.com.

Percentage of Americans in the workforce who said they consciously take steps to avoid the germs of sick co-workers or colleagues, according to the Bradley Corp. Healthy Hand-Washing Survey: 89

Percentage who correctly believe that hand-washing is more effective in removing germs than hand sanitizer -- a fact supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: 64

Ranks of restaurants, hospitals and clinics, and doctor's or dentist's offices on the list of places where there was the most concern about somebody not washing their hands: 1, 2, 3

Source: Bradley Corp.

Estimated number of Americans who are saving more money during coronavirus, rather than spending more, according to a survey by WalletHub: 158 million

Number of Americans who have canceled or plan to cancel travel plans due to the coronavirus: 94 million

Source: WalletHub.

Rank of outdoor remodels (47%) on the list of planned renovations in 2020 -- including plans for decks (45%), greenhouses/gardens (35%) and patios (34%), according to research from SunTrust Banks Inc.: 1

Ranks of bathroom improvements (42%) and kitchen upgrades (38%) on the list: 2, 3

Source: SunTrust Banks Inc.

Percentage of Americans who are embracing the notion of solo travel, compared to an average of 9% of Europeans, according to research by eDreams: 24

Of U.S. travelers who prefer to go it alone, percentage who believe that 25 to 34 is the best age range to go solo, compared to just 6% of those 55 and older: 27

Source: eDreams.

Percentage of Americans (including 46% of Gen Z and 44% of millennials) who make fitness-related purchases, according to a survey from CompareCards: 33

Average monthly cost of these purchases: $124.40

Source: CompareCards.

Total professional monitoring revenue for the U.S. residential security industry in 2020, according to Parks Associates forecasts: $15.74 billion

Of that, amount accounted for by smart home services: $1.2 billion

Percentage of smart smoke/CO detector owners who indicate interest in having their smoke detector connected to a professional monitoring service: 70

Source: Parks Associates.

Idle Thought

"A king can stand people's fighting, but he can't last long if people start thinking." -- Will Rogers

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

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