Retail Sales Will See Strong Increases in 2018, NRF Forecast Predicts
2-8-2018
A report by the National Retail Federation (NRF) projects that retail industry sales will grow between 3.8 and 4.4 percent over 2017, the association announced in a press release Thursday morning. Online and “other non-store sales” are expected to experience an increase over 10 percent in 2018, the report found.
Retail sales experienced an increase of 3.9 percent in 2017, per preliminary U.S. Census Bureau estimates, well outpacing NRF’s 3.2-3.8 percent increase estimate.
“Despite headlines to the contrary, the retail industry is strong, growing and meeting consumer demand with the products they want at the prices they expect and the shopping experience they want to have, online or in store,” said Matthew Shay, NRF President and CEO, in a release. “With consumer confidence high, unemployment low and wages growing, there is every reason to believe that retail sales will be robust throughout the year.”
Retail sales totaled $3.53 trillion in 2017, the release said, and favorable macroeconomic trends will help retailers continue steady growth.
“As the retail industry continues to transform, retailers will leverage the new tax plan to invest in their employees, stores and new formats that engage with the ever-evolving and demanding consumer,” added NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz.
The numbers exclude automobile sales, gasoline stations and restaurants, the release noted. Read the full NRF report here.
About ETA
The Electronic Transactions Association (ETA) is the global trade association representing more than 500 payments and technology companies. ETA members make commerce possible by processing more than $6 trillion in purchases in the US and deploying payments innovations to merchants and consumers. Learn more: www.electran.org.
Related Posts
News
INFOGRAPHIC: Tracking the Evolution of Loyalty Solutions
Loyalty programs cultivate lifelong customers. And they’ve come a long way since the days of punch cards. Modern loyalty solutions integrated mobile payments, rewards and ecommerce technology to get customers to keep coming back. For . . .
5-20-2021
learn more
News
ETA CEO Jodie Kelley: Reflections on the Past Year and Looking Ahead to the Future
By Jodie L. Kelley, CEO, ETA. As I complete my first year as CEO of ETA, I am struck by what an extraordinary year it was in so many ways. As we entered 2020, I . . .
9-28-2020
learn more
News
TSG INFOGRAPHIC: Assessing the Value of Payments Technology
Accepting digital payments costs merchants money, but the “juice is worth the squeeze,” argues payments research firm The Strawhecker Group in their latest infographic. The infographic highlights data that demonstrates the immense value merchants and . . .
7-23-2020
learn more