Holiday Spending, Giving Season and 2024 Financial Predictions: The Latest Financial News Trends

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

By Daniela Valles | Published Jan. 9, 2024

With 2023 in the rear-view mirror and the new year upon us, it can be difficult to stay up to date with the most relevant stories crossing the wire. Our team at PR Newswire is here to help by monitoring finance-related press releases and identifying the key news trends during the last two months.

PR Newswire distributed over 6,800 press releases related to the finance industry in November and December. The recurring topics and trends our team identified included holiday spending/finances, giving season announcements, and financial predictions for 2024.

Before we dive into these trends, let’s take a look at the most popular finance press releases of the last two months.

Some of the Most Popular Finance Releases

• Alteryx Enters into Definitive Agreement to Be Acquired by Clearlake Capital Group and Insight Partners for $4.4 Billion
• Aon to acquire NFP, a leading middle-market provider of risk, benefits, wealth and retirement plan advisory solutions
• Millions of U.S. Businesses Eligible for a Share of $5.54B Payment Card Settlement
• ADP National Employment Report: Private Sector Employment Increased by 103,000 Jobs in November; Annual Pay was Up 5.6%
• Zillow Group to acquire Follow Up Boss, an industry leader in customer relationship management

Finance News Trends

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

Holiday Spending/Finances

Despite concerns about inflation and a possible recession throughout 2023, holiday spending was expected to increase between 3% and 4% during November and December.  According to early insights from Mastercard SpendingPulse^TM, these predictions proved to be right with U.S. retail sales increasing 3.1% during the holiday season, from November 1 through December 24, excluding automotive sales.

During the last two months, we also saw traditional shopping take a back seat with online sales reaching a new record with a nearly 5% year-over-year increase to $222.1 billion, according to Adobe Analytics.

Below you can find examples of press releases related to holiday spending and finances that caught our attention:

• LendingClub Corporation released key findings from The Reality Check: Paycheck-To-Paycheck research series that showed more than one third of consumers were planning to use savings to cover holiday spending.
• According to the Holiday Spending Survey by The Conference Board, 46% of consumers expected to purchase at least half of their gifts online.
• A new Consolidated Credit survey showed that more men would shop in-store and Gen X would be the biggest spenders during the holiday season.
• Achieve reported that 37% of consumers believe it will take them two or more months to pay off holiday season debts.

Giving Season

The holiday season is a time when many companies and organizations are inspired to give back to their communities to make an impact, and the finance industry is no exception. With the Tuesday after Black Friday being GivingTuesday, “giving back” was a hot topic at PR Newswire these last two months.

Nearly 300 press releases mentioning “giving back” were distributed in November and December. Take a look at a few examples below:

• Hilco Global Warms the Winter by Providing Coats to Asylum Seekers and the Homeless
• Teachers Federal Credit Union's Annual Season Of Giving Campaign Concludes A Year-Long Giving Effort Resulting In Over $800,000 In Donations To Charitable Organizations Across The Country
• Gen Zs and Millennials Unveil a New Era of Online Giving
• SmartPath Announces Partnership With Atlanta Mission in Time for Giving Tuesday
• Strategic Financial Solutions Gives Thanks in a Unique Way Through Combining Fun and Philanthropy

2024 Financial Predictions

The finance industry is ever-changing, and with 2023 coming to an end, we saw a rise in releases predicting the financial future in 2024. Inflation was on everyone’s mind in 2023, and according to Goldman Sachs, it will continue to decline in 2024 with a predicted fall of 3% now down to an average 2-2.5% range. From housing to inflation and fintech, these predictions gave us a look into what we can expect this year in the finance industry.

Here are a few examples:

• Zillow predicts more homes for sale, improved affordability in 2024
• FinServ Forecast 2024: 12 technology and trend predictions
• Messari Founder and CEO Ryan Selkis Publishes Theses for 2024
• Zumper Releases 2023 Annual Rent Report, Makes 2024 Predictions
• BofA Global Research Calls 2024 "The Year of the Landing"

Looking Ahead

With the holiday season and the year ending, it was a busy couple of months in the finance industry. We are excited to follow the financial predictions made in the last two months and see which ones prove to be correct.

As for new and ongoing trends, PR Newswire will continue to monitor and track the headlines to keep you up to date with the finance industry.

About the Author

Daniela Valles is a Customer Content Specialist for PR Newswire from Albuquerque, NM. She has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of New Mexico. Outside of work, you can find her always on the go with her two kids, reading a good book, or binge-watching all of the shows.