After a long winter, consumers are looking for a reason to shed their coats, and donning their favorite Irish or green garb to take part in St. Patrick’s Day traditions may just do the trick. According to NRF’s St. Patrick’s Day Spending Survey conducted by Prosper Insights and Analytics, nearly 127 million Americans are planning to celebrate the traditional Irish holiday.

The National Council of Chain Restaurants today issued the following statement from Executive Director Rob Green on the introduction of the Corn Ethanol Mandate Elimination Act

The National Retail Federation congratulates the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) for finally coming to an agreement on a new labor contract.

If a deal is not reached today, we support the decision to move the ILWU-PMA negotiations to Washington and we call upon the president to personally engage in the discussions until an agreement is reached

With recent high-profile data breaches and the growing need to deliver a unified and differentiated customer experience, retail CIOs agree that security and digital innovation are top priorities for 2015. 

The National Retail Federation issued the following statement today from President and CEO Matthew Shay on Walmart’s announcement that it will increase wages of approximately 500,000 full-time and part-time associates.

Playing it safe and planning ahead, Americans this year are planning to stash away their tax refund into savings. According to NRF’s Tax Returns Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, 47 percent of those expecting a refund plan to put their money into savings, the highest percent in the survey’s history. Nearly two-thirds (65.7%) of those surveyed are expecting a refund this year. 

The National Retail Federation appreciates the administration's attention to the West Coast ports.

Retailers commend the White House and President Obama for providing solution-based leadership around the significant threat posed by hackers and other cybercriminals

Retail sales are projected to increase 4.1 percent in 2015. Online and other non-store sales are set to grow as much as 10 percent.