Dive Brief:
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Retail sales could rise 4.1% to $3.24 trillion in 2014, according to a forecast by the Washington-based National Retail Federation. That beats the industry group’s estimate of a 3.7% rise in 2013 and is above the average growth of 3.6% over the past decade.
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The NRF’s report includes online sales but not automobile, gas, or restaurant sales and was released amidst a mixed but largely negative series of Q4 and January revenue reports from retailers. The report noted that online sales are expected to grow 9% to 12% this year.
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In a separate report, the NRF also said that while January retail employment is down 21,600 jobs, it is up 230,000 jobs year-over-year. In December retailers added 57,000 jobs.
Dive Insight:
Retailers should take heart at this NRF report of healthy, if cautious, improvement in the retail market. The reason for caution is the economy’s continued sluggishness and iffy jobs and wage situations. That means retailers will continue to have to fight for consumer attention and dollars. And that also means, most likely, continued price pressures, consumer demand for loyalty perks, and other customer-satisfaction boosters.