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| Retail Sales
Retail sales rebound in January, up 3.6 percent over 2018
Retail sales rebounded in January, increasing 1.3 percent seasonally adjusted from December and 3.6 percent unadjusted year-over-year, the National Retail Federation said. The numbers exclude automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants.
Retail sales, Economy
| Data Security
Retailers ask California to preserve customer loyalty programs
NRF and the California Retailers Association asked state officials to preserve popular customer loyalty programs, protect businesses from potentially ruinous financial penalties and address other provisions of a new privacy law set to take effect next year.
Privacy, California Consumer Privacy Act
| Port Tracker, Supply Chain, Trade
Retail imports drop to annual low with retailers between seasons and tariff hike on hold
Imports at the nation’s major retail container ports are expected to drop to their lowest level in almost a year this month, according to the Global Port Tracker report from NRF and Hackett Associates.
Global Port Tracker, Imports, Internaitional Trade, Tariffs
| Economy, Workforce
Retail employment dipped in February despite long-term gains
Retail industry employment in February was down 6,100 jobs from January and 5,300 jobs year-over-year as employment growth across all industries slowed dramatically.
Retail Jobs, Economy
| Trade
Retailers urge Congress to pass tariff relief legislation
NRF issued a statement from Senior Vice President for Government Relations David French calling on Congress to pass legislation that would require an exclusion process for the Trump administration's tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports.
Tariffs, Congress, Internaitional Trade, China
| Trade
Retailers welcome progress on trade negotiations and delay of tariff increase
NRF supports the administration's delay of a tariff increase on Chinese goods that was set to take effect this week.
Global Trade
| Consumer Trends, Holidays & Seasonal, Winter Holidays, Economy, Retail Sales, Forecasts, Holiday Forecast, Annual Forecast, Holiday Planning Playbook
2018 holiday sales grew 2.9 percent amid turmoil over trade policy and delay in data collection
Holiday retail sales during 2018 grew a lower-than-expected 2.9 percent over the same period in 2017 to $707.5 billion, NRF said after the Commerce Department released data that had been delayed by nearly a month because of the recent government shutdown.
Holiday sales, Retail sales, Tariffs, Trade War
| Port Tracker, Economy, Trade, Supply Chain
Retail imports still strong as possible March tariff hike approaches
Imports at the nation’s major retail container ports have dipped since peaks seen last fall but remain at higher-than-usual levels as a possible increase in tariffs on goods from China approaches in March, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report from NRF and Hackett Associates.
Global Port Tracker, Tariffs, International trade, Global Trade, Cargo, Cargo Containers, Imports, Import Cargo, Import Cargo Volume, Supply Chain
| Trade
Retailers respond to 2019 State of the Union address
NRF issued a statement from President and CEO Matthew Shay following President Donald Trump’s 2019 State of the Union address.
State of the Union, Congress, White House, Economy, Internaitional Trade
| Economy, Retail Sales
NRF says ‘state of the economy is sound’ and forecasts retail sales will grow between 3.8 and 4.4 percent
NRF's annual forecast projects that retail sales during 2019 will increase between 3.8 percent and 4.4 percent to more than $3.8 trillion despite threats from an ongoing trade war, the volatile stock market and the effects of the government shutdown.
Retail sales, Economy, Consumer Spending