Figuratively Speaking

Percentage of Americans who say they will have more parties and get-togethers this holiday season than last season, according to a survey by the Christmas Tree Promotion Board: 51

Percentage who say they are putting up more decorations than last year: 51

Percentage who say they will be celebrating with more people than usual: 49

Source: Christmas Tree Promotion Board.

Average amount that parents will spend on gifts per child under 18 this holiday season, according to CreditCards.com: $276

Percentage more that men will spend than women on gifts for a significant other: 55

Source: CreditCards.com.

Percentage of gift-givers who will have gifts delivered to their home, according to an Oracle Retail study: 64

Percentage who say granular tracking of delivery status is very important: 62

Percentage who say fast delivery determines which retailers they order from: 36

Source: Oracle.

Percentage of Americans who identify wrapping gifts as the worst part of the holidays, according to a survey by Slickdeals: 52

Percentage who hate the task so much they prefer having a professional wrap their gifts and will do anything to avoid wrapping: 51

Source: Slickdeals.

Percentage of small businesses that report being fully recovered from the pandemic, according to a survey by Alignable: 27

Percentage of manufacturers that say they need more assistance from the federal government to bounce back: 81

Percentage of restaurants that say the same: 66

Source: Alignable.

Percentage of Americans who spend more time holiday shopping than managing their money, according to a survey by MyBankTracker.com: 13

Percentage who spend about the same amount of time on both: 34

Source: MyBankTracker.com.

Percentage of consumers who do not plan to spend at all this holiday season, more than double the number from 2020 (4.9%), according to a survey by Deloitte: 11.5

Percentage of this non-spender group who are from lower-income households, compared to 12% from higher-income households: 65

Source: Deloitte.

Percentage of Americans who were motivated to undertake home improvement projects recently by a desire to increase future sale value, according to a survey by Angi: 77

Percentage of men who are more likely to say they can do just as good a job as a pro, vs. 32% of women who say the same: 48

Source: Angi.

Ranks of a gift card, traditional holiday gifts, money, and a personalized or customized gift on the list of the most common types of gifts Americans plan to purchase this year, according to a Shutterfly poll conducted by Ipsos: 1, 2, 3, 4

Among those who have purchased personalized gifts, percentage who said the reason was to show family or friends that they care: 52

Percentage who said they think a personalized present carries more meaning than a typical gift: 44

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of people who are unaware how a common financing trick called "deferred interest" works, according to the 2021 Deferred Interest survey by WalletHub: 56

Number of times more that a shopper can spend on interest relative to a normal 0% credit card offer: 27.5

Percentage of store credit cards that have deferred interest: 49

Source: WalletHub.

Idle Thought

"Just as appetite comes by eating, so work brings inspiration." -- Igor Stravinsky, composer (1882-1971)

Percentage of consumers who say the coronavirus pandemic strengthened their loyalty to small businesses, according to a survey by LendingTree: 63

Percentage of Americans who know a small business in their community that permanently closed due to the pandemic: 63

Percentage of Americans who believe online retailers like Amazon hurt local businesses: 57

Source: LendingTree.

Of those who participate in a Secret Santa gift exchange, percentage who said they hate being roped into it because they never know what to get their designated exchangee, according to a survey by Slickdeals: 79

Percentage who admit they re-gift the items they've received from past Secret Santa exchanges: 89

Source: Slickdeals.

Percentage of people who previously bought artificial Christmas trees and switched to a real tree last year who wish they had made the change sooner, according to a survey by Christmas Tree Promotion Board: 89

Percentage of Americans planning to buy a real Christmas tree this year who point to its natural scent and the experience of decorating it as their favorite aspects of having a real tree: 54

Ranks of the first week of December and post-Thanksgiving weekend on the list of the most popular times they plan to buy a real tree: 1, 2

Source: Christmas Tree Promotion Board.

Current national average for a gallon of regular unleaded gas, according to AAA: $3.41

Average swipe fee percentage that banks charge merchants to process Visa and Mastercard credit card transactions, according to the Merchants Payments Coalition: 2.22

Swipe fee for a 10-gallon fill-up: 75 cents

Amount gas stations paid in swipe fees in 2020: $10.7 billion

Estimated amount that will be paid in 2021: $12.5 billion

Source: Merchants Payments Coalition.

Percentage of Americans who plan to send holiday cards or give personalized mementos and gifts to connect with family and friends this holiday season, according to a Shutterfly poll conducted by Ipsos: 44

Among those planning to send cards this year, percentage who will send traditional holiday messages: 63

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of Americans who are likely to travel for Christmas this year, up 24% over 2020, according to a survey commissioned by the American Hotel and Lodging Association: 33

Percentage of those who will be driving: 64

Source: American Hotel and Lodging Association.

Rank of the U.S. as the country most hit by ransomware in 2020 and 2021, according to data from Nordlocker: 1

Percentage of companies worldwide that became victims of ransomware: 37

Source: Nordlocker.

Percentage of holiday shoppers who expect to make most of their purchases using a debit card, according to a CreditCards.com report: 42

Percentage who said they will use credit cards: 38

Percentage who said they will use cash: 15

Percentage who cited buy now pay later services: 5

Source: CreditCards.com.

Percentage of Americans who say product images influence their purchases of consumer packaged goods, while 74% say images in search results are very or extremely helpful in determining which products to buy, according to a survey commissioned by NCSolutions: 49

Percentage of Americans who think it's extremely important to see an image of what a meal or dish will look like when it's fully prepared: 45

Source: NCSolutions.

Idle Thought

"The business of the poet and the novelist is to show the sorriness underlying the grandest things and the grandeur underlying the sorriest things." -- Thomas Hardy, novelist and poet (1840-1928)

When asked about their current emotional state, percentage of Americans who feel a sense of gratitude/thankfulness, according to the second wave of a landmark study on gratitude conducted by UC Davis and Gracianna Winery: 87

Percentage who feel happy: 85

Percentage who are optimistic: 75

Source: Gracianna Winery.

Percentage of Americans who plan to cook the same amount or more this holiday season, according to a survey from NCSolutions: 90

Percentage who say they plan to spend the same amount of money or more on their holiday meals: 83

Ranks of turkey, the perennial favorite Thanksgiving staple, mashed potatoes, gravy and stuffing/dressing, on the list of favorite holiday foods: 1 (tie), 3 (tie)

Source: NCSolutions.

As the second pandemic Thanksgiving approaches, percentage of Americans who expect to celebrate big this year, either by traveling or hosting a big group, according to new data from the Ipsos Coronavirus Consumer Tracker: 49

Percentage who plan to travel by plane to celebrate Thanksgiving with friends or family: 6

Percentage who say they expect all people who attend their celebration to be vaccinated: 54

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of U.S. workers who say the pandemic has triggered a reevaluation of their personal priorities, according to a survey by Eagle Hill Consulting: 51

Source: Eagle Hill Consulting.

Percentage of college students who agree that it is important to love what you do for a living, according to a survey by BestColleges: 86

Percentage who say it is important to love what you are studying: 83

Percentage of undergraduates who say they are currently pursuing their passions: 40

Source: BestColleges.

Percentage of people who are forgoing holiday gifts this year due to COVID, according to a WalletHub survey: 25

Percentage of Americans who still have credit card debt from last holiday season: 18

Source: WalletHub.

Percentage increase in spending on experiences, which includes entertaining at home and socializing away from home, accounting for more than one-third of holiday spending (up to $536 per household), according to a survey by Deloitte: 15

Projected spending on gifts per household, an increase of 3% since 2020, while non-gift purchases will total $426 per household: $501

Source: Deloitte.

Percentage of Americans who don't visit the doctor for yearly checkups, according to a survey by LendingTree: 53

Percentage of Americans who don't get at least seven hours sleep a night: 55

Percentage who don't eat enough vegetables: 66

Percentage who don't get enough physical exercise: 70

Source: LendingTree.

Percentage of Americans with consumer debt who say they expect to pay it off in one to five years, according to a survey by Northwestern Mutual: 46

Percentage who expect to pay it off in six to 10 years: 20

Percentage who said 11 to 20 years: 14

Percentage who said the rest of their lives: 9

Source: Northwestern Mutual.

Percentage of Gen Z workers who have worked from somewhere other than their home for an extended period, according to a survey from Bankrate: 18

Percentage of millennial workers who have done the same: 14

Source: CreditCards.com.

Idle Thought

"Vocations which we wanted to pursue, but didn't, bleed, like colors, on the whole of our existence." -- Honore de Balzac, novelist (1799-1850)