Save E-mail

Send this URL to a friend:

* - Denotes a required field.
Your Name*
Your Email Address*
Friend's Name*
Friend's Email Address*
Subject*
Message*

Print

New York--Retail sales are expected to increase 3 percent to $2.53 trillion this year, held back by the high unemployment rate and lack of new jobs, the National Retail Federation (NRF) predicts.

The pace of growth is down from 2011, when retail sales grew 5 percent and comes on the heels of a holiday season in which sales grew 4 percent.

In addition to unemployment, factors that were taken into consideration in creating the 2012 forecast include consumers’ modest income growth, inflation, ongoing problems in the housing market, expanding consumer credit and fragile consumer confidence.

In announcing the NRF’s forecast to 24,000 retailers and their partners gathered in New York for the NRF’s 101st Annual Convention and Expo Tuesday in New York, NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay called the 2012 forecast “a vote of confidence in the retail industry,” though he noted that the industry needs helps from lawmakers in Washington to continue to grow. Specifically, he mentioned the need to pass a sales tax fairness act to level the playing field between online and brick-and-mortar retailers.

A sales tax fairness bill is currently before Congress.