Cannabis Expansion, Holiday Gift Guides, and 2024 Trendspotting: Noteworthy Consumer News

A look at the consumer and retail news from PR Newswire in November and December that you might have missed.

 

Consumer News Trends, November-December 2023

 

By Toney Palumbo | Published Jan. 5, 2024

 

As we wrap up 2023 and take a look at press releases in the area of consumer news, we’ve identified the following three subject areas as specifically worthy of mention: cannabis company expansions, holiday gift guides, and looking ahead to the anticipated trends of next year.

In this post, we'll take a deep dive into the trends as well as some of the period's most-read press releases from PR Newswire.

Some of the Most Popular Consumer Releases

Before we discuss our trending subjects of November and December, here are a handful of the 4,000+ consumer news press releases distributed by PR Newswire that gained the most traction throughout that period:

 

 

Consumer News Trends

Here’s a look at a few of the trends we noticed among consumer-related press releases in November and December, with a few examples of each.

Cannabis Industry Expansion

The last two months appeared to be an active time for the cannabis industry, with brands announcing launches or expansions into new regions and quite a few others rolling out new products. A total of 316 press releases tagged as pertaining to the cannabis industry were distributed between November and December.

Wu-Tang Clan rapper and actor Method Man’s TICAL Official brand announced multiple expansions, including statewide launches in New Mexico, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. Canadian cannabis enterprise High Tide, Inc. unveiled the opening of Canna Cabana locations in Ontario, including stores in Kanata and Missisauga. Other corporate-expansion stories about cannabis companies included the opening of Ascend Wellness Holdings, Inc.’s fourth dispensary in Ohio and EVOL by Future’s partnership with House of Dank in Michigan.

Some releases described innovations in cannabis consumer engagement, like BLAZE’s mobile-based, self-checkout “In-Store Shopping experience” allowing for streamlined dispensary shopping trips; Higher Collective’s rollout of drive-thru locations in Connecticut also falls into this category.

The most substantial category of cannabis news, however, was the announcement of new products. Here are a handful of press releases touting a company’s newest offerings:

A subcategory worth noting was that of pet-specific cannabis products and services, like the announcements from Jones Craft Dog Soda and the CBD Dog Health Academy. Additionally, Pet Releaf — provider of CBD products for pets — introduced "Your Pet's Black Friday," a day of exclusive deals for dogs and cats.

Holiday Gift Guides

Appropriately enough for the sprint toward the end of the year, holiday gift guides popped up as a common subject in consumer news releases. We saw over 150 releases mentioning some variation of “holiday gift/s” or “gift guide/s.” Some companies revealed their own seasonal deals, while others compiled recommendations for shoppers looking to purchase specific types of gifts, such as electronics, home improvement tools, pet supplies, and outdoor gear – plus less conventional options like White Castle branded collectibles or Home Run Inn’s proprietary “Pizza Spice.”

Some companies trumpeted their own inclusion on roundup lists, like Fount Society and Bukowski Bears announcing their appearances on Oprah’s “Favorite Things 2023” holiday gifts list. Other organizations, including Kroger and VANKYO, chose to emphasize the affordability of certain products or special Black Friday deals.

Here are several more examples of holiday gift guide releases we distributed in the last two months:

2024 Trend Predictions

The most “meta” of the trends we’ve had our eye on is that of companies attempting to predict or influence what will be popular in 2024. While a solid majority of this trendspotting appears to have taken place within the food and beverage industries, plenty of other brands identified trends related to home décor – with several naming a “color of the year.” Let’s take a closer look into the consumer crystal ball for the year to come.

Quite a few of these releases pertained broadly to the food and beverage space, like Frito-Lay’s “U.S. Snack Index” and ButcherBox’s Home Cooking Trends Report. Affinity Group Sales & Marketing offered an analysis of anticipated trends in the foodservice industry. More specifically, several releases explored what the most popular flavors will be in 2024. Some releases exploring “flavor trends” included:

Additionally, we saw dairy trends rounded up by the Tillamook County Creamery Association and Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin.

Outside the world of food and beverage, we saw a 2024 “Style Forecast” from Stitch Fix and home renovation trends – both interior and exterior – discussed in the following releases:

As mentioned above, several press releases focused on a “color of the year” for 2024, including:

Looking Ahead

It’s clear that many consumer brands and organizations have already been looking ahead to the trends of 2024 – and we’ll be right there alongside them, identifying noteworthy activities in product developments and launches, popular industry practices, and new approaches to the consumer experience.

 

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About the Author

Toney Palumbo headshotToney Palumbo has been a member of the nocturnal Cision PR Newswire team since late 2017. In his leisure time, he is a prodigious consumer (and sporadic creator) of music.