WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation (NRF) predicts that retail industry sales will increase by 3.1% this year as the U.S. economy continues to strengthen and will provide consumers with greater confidence to spend. The report also predicts that online, mobile and catalog sales will grow between 6% and 9% this year. If the forecast
WASHINGTON — Economists at the National Retail Federation (NRF) predict retail industry sales in 2016 will exceed their 10-year average as the economy continues to grow and consumers show more willingness to spend. The federation forecasts sales will increase 3.1% this year, topping the 2.7% average over the past decade. The report, released today, predicts
Two recent business stories that received a fair amount of attention in mainstream media channels raise some interesting questions about the trajectory of retailing in America. The National Retail Federation reported in the middle of last month that holiday sales increased just 3% to $626 billion. The lackluster performance fell well short of the association’s
NEW YORK — For 2015, the food, drug and mass retail channel saw holiday sales growth in line with that of recent years. Total sales for discount stores grew 3.3% for the 28-day period between Thanksgiving and Christmas, compared with 3.5% in 2014, according to research by Racher Press, the publisher of MMR. Same-store sales