Percentage of Americans who say they overspent during the holidays, according to WalletHub's Post-Holiday Shopping Survey: 39
Percentage who said the 2020 holiday season was worth going into debt for -- a 46% increase over the prior year: 26
Net projected decrease in credit card debt when the final data for 2020 comes in: $89 billion
Source: WalletHub.
Number of times more likely that today's children are to aspire to be a YouTuber than an astronaut, according to a Harris Poll/LEGO survey conducted in the U.S., U.K. and China: 3
Source: The LEGO Group.
While 7 in 10 U.S. adults say they wish there were more they could do to combat climate change, percentage of U.S. adults who say they don't know where to start, according to a survey conducted on behalf of the American Psychological Association: 51
Among those who have already made behavior changes to reduce their contribution to climate change, percentage who cited not having the resources -- such as time, money or skills -- to make changes as the reason for not having done more: 26
Source: American Psychological Association.
Percentage of professionals who confirmed they find virtual meetings inefficient and exhausting, and prefer to communicate via other channels, like email or phone, according to a survey by Robert Half: 24
Ranks of dealing with technical issues, too many meeting participants and people talking over each other on the list of the most common video call pet peeves: 1, 2, 3
Source: Robert Half Finance and Accounting.
Percentage of Americans who say they are concerned about the spread of false information, according to a recent NPR/Ipsos poll: 83
Percentage who are specifically concerned about the spread of false information about the coronavirus and vaccines: 80
Percentage who are concerned that the information they receive on social media is not accurate: 69
Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.
Value of the global online food delivery market, according to research by Comprar Acciones: $136.43 billion
Projected percentage growth in 2021 (to $151.3 billion): 11
As of October 2020, ranks of Door Dash, Uber Eats and Grubhub on the list of food delivery companies with the highest percentages of market share: 1, 2, 3
Source: Comprar Acciones.
Percentage of Americans who say it is likely life in the United States will get back to normal in 2021 after the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, in line with the global average, according to Ipsos research: 41
Percentage who believe most people will wear a mask in public places a year from now: 55
While majorities in India, Saudi Arabia, Peru and Malaysia believe the world will change for the better because of the pandemic, percentage of Americans who are as optimistic: 24
Percentage of those in France who think this will happen -- the lowest among survey participants: 9
Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.
Percentage of consumers who say they are ready to fly in autonomous aircraft in their lifetime, according to a global survey commissioned by ANSYS: 70
Of those, percentage who are willing to board a self-flying plane in the next decade: 58
When asked to select their greatest concerns with autonomous flights, percentage of respondents who said they are most concerned with technology failure: 65
Source: ANSYS.
Percentage of online shoppers in 15 countries and regions, including the U.S., Asia, Europe, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and India, who report abandoning a cart due to a higher-than-expected delivery cost, according to UPS: 41
Percentage of respondents who said that the returns policy affected whether they would continue shopping with a retailer: 73
Percentage higher that the average transaction value generated by loyalty program members is than those who are not members of the loyalty program: 30
Source: UPS.
Percentage of women (vs. 78% of men) who said their death would have a "substantial" impact on their family's quality of life, according to a report from online life insurance agency Haven Life: 79
Percentage of women surveyed who said they have life insurance, compared to 79% of men: 67
Of those who had an individual life insurance policy, average coverage for women, compared to average coverage of $423,102 for men: $231,42
Source: Haven Life.
Idle Thought
"Patriotism is often an arbitrary veneration of real estate above principles." -- George Jean Nathan, author and editor (1882-1958)
(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca.)