Vaccinations the rollout of which retailers are supporting could help lift consumer spending, the NRF says.
The ongoing vaccination rollout in the U.S. an effort supported in large part by retailers will help spark more consumer spending this year, and lead to year-over-year retail sales growth of between 6.5% and 8.2%, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF).
Its latest annual forecast predicts retail spending of more than $4.33 trillion this year a year when all hopes are focusing on getting back to some type of normal, a situation that leads to more retail revenue and other good economic news. The NRF report adds reason for cautious but solid optimism about those issues.
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This is an excerpt from Thursday s (2/25) Point of Sale retail supply chain newsletter sponsored by ArcBest.
Retail sales are expected to grow this year between 6.5% and 8.2%, amounting to more than $4.33 trillion, according to the National Retail Federation s annual sales forecast released Wednesday.
Preliminary results indicate retail sales grew 6.7% in 2020, despite the challenges from the global health crisis. That total nearly doubles the NRF original forecast of 3.5% prior to the pandemic and was driven by sky-high online demand that totaled 22% of all spending by year s end. This year, the NRF forecasts online sales to maintain a pressing pace between 18% and 23% growth over last year to hit $1 trillion for the first time.
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Dive Brief:
Retail sales in the U.S. could top $4.3 trillion in 2021, increasing 6.5% to 8.2%, according to the National Retail Federation s annual estimates.
Coloring the optimism of those figures are increasing vaccinations against COVID-19 and the accompanying re-opening of the economy.
Early results showed that retail sales grew 6.7% to a little over $4 trillion in 2020, roughly double NRF s pre-pandemic forecast for the year. Online and other non-store sales spiked by nearly 22% to $969.4 billion.
Dive Insight:
The NRF is pegging the fortunes of the industry to the COVID-19 vaccines and their rollout. As NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said in a press release: Our principal assumption is that that the vaccination will be effective and permits accelerated growth during the mid-year. The economy is expected to see its fastest growth in over two decades.
Alabamians spent big in December as holiday spending shatters records
With fewer people traveling, visiting relatives or holding Christmas parties during the holidays, Alabamians embraced a different holiday tradition: Spending money. And they did it at a pace the state has never seen before.
Online and in-person spending by Alabamians in November and December jumped nearly 12% over 2019, shattering the previous record, according to an analysis released this week by the Alabama Retail Association. It was the first time the pace of spending growth had broken double digits.
Holiday spending across the nation grew about 8% in 2020, according to an analysis by the National Retail Federation, though that data doesn’t include spending on cars, gas, or restaurants.