The National Retail Federation on Feb. 26 forecast that retail sales during 2020 will increase between 3.5% percent and 4.1% to more than $3.9 trillion despite uncertainty from the lingering trade war, coronavirus and the presidential election.
“The nation’s record-long economic expansion is continuing, and consumers remain the drivers of that expansion,” NRF CEO Matthew Shay said in a statement.
“With gains in household income and wealth, lower interest rates and strong consumer confidence, we expect another healthy year ahead. There are always wild cards we cannot control like coronavirus and a politically charged election year. But when it comes to the fundamentals, our economy is sound and consumers continue to lead the way,” Shay added.
Preliminary results show that retail sales during 2019 grew 3.7% over 2018 to $3.79 trillion, just short of NRF’s forecast of at least 3.8% growth growth, which had to be based on incomplete data because of last year’s government shutdown.
The total includes online and other non-store sales, which were up 12.9% at $777.3 billion, beating NRF’s forecast of up to 12%growth. The numbers exclude automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants.
