The National Retail Federation raised its outlook for the year, citing a quicker-than-expected recovery and eagerness to shop.
One of the United States’ largest retail trade groups, the National Retail Federation, boosted the industry’s outlook for the year on Wednesday, saying it anticipates “the fastest growth that we’ve seen in this country since 1984.”
The industry group had forecast in February that retail sales would rise between 6.5% and 8.2%, amounting to more than $4.33 trillion in sales for the year.
Yet based on the latest estimates retail sales are expected to grow between 10.5% and 13.5% to an estimated total of $4.44 trillion to $4.56 trillion in 2021, as the economy rebounds from the pandemic and customers spend money they have been saving, NRF’s Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said at a virtual event. That forecast includes store and online sales, but excludes automobile dealers, gas stations and restaurants.
The numbers compare with $4.02 trillion in total retail sales in 2020.
