Figuratively Speaking

Percentage of company leaders who are either very unprepared or unprepared to manage remote teams, according to a survey from VitalSmarts: 20

Percentage who are concerned COVID-19 will influence their company's operations: 65

Source: VitalSmarts.

Percentage of shoppers who say they are worse off financially than they were pre-pandemic -- including 9% who are much worse off, according to a COVID-19 grocery shopper research report from Acosta: 37

Percentage of millennials who are worse off, the hardest-hit generation: 43

Source: Acosta.

On average, percentage fewer matches that men displaying shirtless pictures on dating profiles have than those who are clothed, according to a survey by Dating.com: 25

Percentage of men who actually believe that shirtless pictures help their chances of landing a match: 90

Percentage of all women surveyed who indicated that shirtless pictures implies a lack of maturity and self-awareness: 66

Source: Dating.com Group.

Percentage of physicians across all areas (with the exception of behavioral health) who reported that they had either been furloughed or taken pay cuts, according to a survey by Sage Growth Partners of U.S. physicians to assess how COVID-19 has changed the way they deliver care: 55

Percentage who plan on closing their offices for an extended period or permanently: 10 to 12

Percentage who believe their practices will return to pre-COVID-19 patient volumes within the next three to six months: 78

Source: Sage Growth Partners.

Total amount of money lost through theft, fraud and losses from other retail "shrink" in 2019, up from $50.6 billion the year before, according to the National Retail Federation: $61.7 billion

According to the report, average percentage of sales attributed to shrink, up from 1.38% in 2018: 1.62

Source: NRF.

Percentage of Americans who are more concerned about their retirement today compared to a year ago -- up from 56% this May, according to the SimplyWise Index: 62

Percentage who believe they will outlive their retirement savings: 50

Percentage of Americans in their 50s who say they could not last more than a year off their savings: 80

Source: SimplyWise.

Percentage of employees who give their company an exceptional rating for employee experience, according to a survey issued by Topia and conducted by Method Research: 17

Percentage of employees who feel that if their manager or colleagues knew their political beliefs, it would limit their career potential: 25

Specifically among HR personnel, percentage who say they feel the need to keep their personal beliefs private: 44

Source: Topia.

Percentage of Americans with children who use some digital technology applications to support communication with their children and help to educate as well as entertain them, according to Parks Associates research: 80

Percentage of broadband households with children who have had an adult in the household lose their job, receive a salary cut or had their work hours reduced because of COVID-19: 50

Source: Parks Associates.

Percentage of diners who have scaled back ordering from restaurants since March, according to a survey by MGH: 48

Percentage who have said they have ordered a family meal deal: 55

Percentage who have ordered snacks or desserts: 30

Percentage who have ordered meal kits: 11

Source: MGH.

Idle Thought

"To the artist, there is never anything ugly in nature." -- Auguste Rodin, sculptor

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

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.)

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.)