Hello! Can’t Go For That… Daryl Hall has filed a restraining order against former music partner John Oates during a mysterious ongoing legal battle, making a reunion a firm no can do. Today we're exploring:
After the indulgence of Thanksgiving, millions of Americans will spend today relaxing, eating leftovers, watching sports and — perhaps — indulging in some retail therapy on one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Many brave the malls and shops themselves, while others click to buy from the comfort of their home using a laptop or phone — but just how much of total retail shopping is actually done online?
The answer is actually only about ~15%, although that figure typically rises during this time of the year, according to data from the US Census Bureau.
Have to be there
Needless to say, e-commerce got an enormous boost during the pandemic, with its share of retail sales reaching a peak of 17% in Q1 2020, when we were confined to our homes.
But, as the pandemic faded, shops and stores re-opened, and the world got back to something resembling normal, the share of stuff bought online did something surprising: it fell. Indeed, the 17% figure from 2020 is, so far, yet to be matched... proving that, sometimes, you just have to be there to buy.
Amazon’s army
Corporate giants all have their own ways of getting into the Christmas spirit: Starbucks rolls out its red cups and increasingly experimental beverage offerings, Coca-Cola starts airing its sickly-sweet holiday adverts, and Amazon… hires a veritable army of holiday helpers to bolster its already gargantuan workforce.
This year is no different for the online shopping behemoth either, shipping in a record 250,000 additional workers for the holiday period to help manage the barrage of orders the company faces each year. Indeed, the site’s become a safe haven for hordes of last-minute gift buyers amongst us, even offering deadline guidance in recent years on when to get your orders in to ensure no one’s left disappointed on the big day.
Holiday hires lower
Amazon’s record figure comes against a slowing seasonal hiring backdrop, with companies like the US Postal Service and Macy’s announcing that they’re decreasing the number of new recruits they’re bringing on this season, while Target and UPS’s holiday hiring is also reportedly staying flat this year.
Step into Christmas
We have to inform you that there are not only people who will start listening to Christmas music today, but that there are many people who have been listening to Christmas music for weeks.
Yes, it’s beginning to look a little like Christmas: the season of cheer, retail (see above), understanding, chestnuts on open fires, and your favorite festive stars coming out of hibernation (e.g. Bublé). Few can resist getting into the holiday spirit in the lead-up to December 25th, and nothing captures the magic like a holly-jolly hit — in fact, 53% of Americans consider Xmas music to be “essential” in any celebrations.
Joy to the world
According to a 2017 Spotify study, November 12th marked the threshold when Xmas songs comprised over 2% of all streams. From then on, the festive listening ramps up each weekend, before peaking on the big day itself… and then sharply dropping when the holiday has wrapped up.
Predictably, the song climbing the Spotify charts the fastest is Christmas-constant All I Want for Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey, which was already the 11th most listened-to song on all of Spotify (globally) on Wednesday, racking up 3.3 million streams on that day alone — worth about $8-10k of royalties to the rights holders, per estimates.
Related data: Cool visual from Eva Murray exploring when Christmas music takes over in different countries.
• Shaken, not soled: to celebrate the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the Bellagio served cocktails out of leather racing shoes, setting people back a mere $135.
• The richest 1% of people emitted as much carbon pollution as the poorest two-thirds of humanity in 2019, according to a new Oxfam report.
• Napoleon is conquering the box office: after gaining $946k on its opening day in France (despite scathing reviews from critiques), it's also on track to earn up to $37.5m in the US over the 5-day holiday period.
• A viz exploration of the unhealthy air quality that blighted this year’s Cricket World Cup in India.
• These highlight pictures from the 2023 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade might lift your spirits.
Off the charts: What's almost doubled in size over the past 60 years, according to USDA data? Hint: you may have overindulged in it yesterday. [Answer below].
