Posted on: Sunday, December 9, 2007
Spending $45,000 on holiday parties?
Compiled by John MacIntyre
Projected average amount that the super rich (those whose household net worth tops at least $10 million) will spend on holiday entertaining this year, according to the Elite Traveler Magazine/Prince and Associates 2007 Holiday Spending Survey: $45,800
Projected average amount that will be spent on gifts/services for pets: $10,200
Percentage of respondents who said rising gas prices are impacting their holiday travel plans: 0
GIFT SPENDING
Projected average expenditure per U.S. household on gifts this year, according to the Conference Board: $471
Estimated expenditure in 2006: $449
OFFICE CHEER
Percentage of employees who say that decorations help make the office party more festive, according to a survey by Quill Corp.: 52
Percentage who don't put up any special decorations for office parties: 46
Percentage of parties whose cost is covered by participating employees who pitch in their own money: 41.5
GAMING WITH THE KIDS
Percentage of U.S. parents with children who play video or computer games who say that they never play along with their children, according to a survey conducted by The Associated Press-AOL Games: 43
Percentage of children age 4 to 17 who play video games at least "occasionally," according to the parents surveyed: 81
ONLINE DANGERS
Percentage of respondents who handle their account credentials in an unsafe manner (specifically storing passwords on their computers, writing passwords on paper and using the same user names and/or passwords for multiple shopping accounts), according to the results of a nationwide survey of online shoppers by Guard ID Systems Inc.: 91
Percentage of online shoppers who have received e-mail-based phishing attacks: 74
Despite this fact, percentage of those surveyed who would shop at an unfamiliar site if it offered good prices: 33
BLACK FRIDAY GRABS
Ranks of the Nintendo Wii console, the Microsoft Zune 30GB Media Player (brown), the TomTom ONE 3rd Edition GPS, the Activision Guitar Hero III Legends of Rock Bundle and the Canon PowerShot SD1000 silver digital camera as the top-selling products on Black Friday, according to PriceGrabber: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
GIFT CARD PURCHASES
Percentage of their total gift spending that Americans plan to spend on gift cards, according to a survey from American Express: 25
Percentage of shoppers who report that gift cards allow them to finish shopping faster and with less stress: 78
Percentage of respondents who say gift cards simplify holiday shopping: 88
MINTY ROADWAYS
Rank of "Peppermint" among the most common candy-related street name in the United States, according to the Tele Atlas map database: 1
Ranks of Chocolate, Caramel and Licorice: 2, 3, 4
NO CHINA-MADE TOYS?
Percentage of U.S. consumers who say they plan on avoiding toys from China this holiday season, according to a survey conducted by BIGresearch: 58
Percentage of shoppers age 55 and up who say they plan on avoiding toys from China this holiday season: 69
SNAIL MAIL VS. E-MAIL
Percentage of American adults who trust envelopes as the safest way to send written information, according to a survey conducted on behalf of the Envelope Manufacturers Association Foundation: 60
Percentage who cited e-mail or the Internet as the safest way to send written information: 26
IDLE THOUGHT
"The chains of habit are generally too small to be felt until they are too strong to be broken."
— Samuel Johnson
