?? Plastic - it’s what’s for dinner

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Hi folks,

The holidays are behind us (sigh), and if your decorations are still up, consider this a gentle nudge from your friends at GWI to pack them away. Meanwhile, in Belgium, the government issued a public warning: please don’t eat your Christmas tree needles - no matter how tempting they might look.??

Scroll down to read about return-to-work mandates, indoor golf, and whether the UK is the world's worst at keeping resolutions.

Stats to power your week

?? Now that?CES?has wrapped up, it’s a good time to take stock of the technology people are most excited about. Artificial intelligence tops the list at 48%, followed by the Internet of Things (e.g. smart home products) at 34%, and clean energy solutions at 32%. GWI Core GWI Core

?? New year, new you? Maybe not quite. Just 5% of resolution makers last year achieved all their goals - but hey, 42% say they “achieved some”, and that’s practically an A in our book. GWI Zeitgeist

? With the inaugural season of the Tomorrow Golf League led by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy kicking off, the sport is clearly looking to attract younger fans. Right now, it’s the older generations who dominate golf viewership with 24% of over-65s following golf, compared to 18% of 16-24s. GWI Core (UK/US)

?? Some professions simply need an on-site presence. You just can’t perform surgery without a surgeon, or build a product without a maker. But as more companies in other industries enforce return-to-work mandates, one profession stands out for its remote-first culture: software development. Just a quarter of developers work exclusively in the office, while on the flip side, 56% of hospitality and leisure workers are office-bound. GWI Work

??? As Meta ends its fact-checking program in favor of user-generated notes on posts, accuracy remains the most important priority for consumers when sharing content, followed by user safety, and being informative. Interestingly, free speech ranks fourth, ahead of both entertainment and creativity. GWI Zeitgeist

Chart of the week

Digital-only banks are shaking up the financial world, particularly in Latin America and APAC. In Brazil, 73% of consumers have a digital-only bank account, compared to just 22% in Canada. The Philippines tells a similar story, with digital banking adoption at 63% - nearly double the UK’s 31%.

This popularity isn’t among just tech-savvy consumers. Many of these countries leapfrogged traditional banking infrastructure, diving headfirst into the convenience of digital platforms. Plus, features like automatic savings tools (the top request from consumers when asked how they’d like their bank to provide help with finances), make digital banks particularly appealing.

Sure, traditional banks still dominate in most countries, but the shift is clear: digital-first banking is stealing the spotlight, especially in regions where adaptability and innovation are driving financial accessibility.

More from GWI

• 15 AI market research tools for smarter consumer insights
• How the circular economy is transforming fashion
• Webinar RSVP: How to spot real consumer trends with GWI data

This is an abridged version of our weekly newsletter, ‘On the dot’. To get the full edition in all its glory,?subscribe to the real deal.