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The economy’s fast-paced growth could slow somewhat as the Federal Reserve tries to bring inflation under control in the next few months, but consumers are likely to keep on shopping as lower inflation eases uncertainty, NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz says.

NRF said a Senate Finance Committee hearing will give Congress an opportunity to closely examine anticompetitive practices that are adding to inflation through billions of dollars in “swipe” fees charged to process credit card transactions.

Mother’s Day spending is expected to total $31.7 billion this year, up $3.6 billion from 2021’s record spending, according to the annual consumer survey released by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics.

NRF urged Visa and Mastercard to cancel credit card swipe fee increases scheduled to take effect this month, citing a letter from both Republican and Democratic members of Congress saying higher fees would add to inflation.

The seventh annual NRF Foundation Honors took place April 13 at the Marriott Marquis Times Square to recognize the exceptional leadership of retail executives and to support the next generation of industry talent. The event raised $3.22 million to fund the NRF Foundation’s programs and resources that connect people to life-changing careers in retail.

Retail sales grew in March even as inflation edged higher, NRF said.

Four executives were named members of the NRF Foundation Board of Directors during its meeting on April 13.

The nation’s major retail container ports have begun to catch up with the backlog of cargo seen over the past several months, but could experience another surge this summer, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report from NRF and Hackett Associates.

NRF welcomed a federal appeals court ruling that payment processing network Pulse can sue Visa over practices it claims reduce competition over who gets to process billions of dollars in debit card transactions each year.

Top challenges have shifted from COVID-19 to inflation and the war in Ukraine, but the U.S. economy will continue to face uncertainties in the year ahead, NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz says.