Economy

Learn more about the current state of retail and the role it plays in supporting the U.S. economy, including retail sales, monthly economic reports and more data from the National Retail Federation.

NRF State of Retail & the Consumer

NRF’s State of Retail & the Consumer 2023 event explored the health of the American consumer and retail industry with leaders including NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay and NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz, Ph.D.

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Inflation

Explore the causes and impact of inflation on the retail industry, and see what policies could alleviate the burden on consumers and retailers.

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Retail's economic impact

Retail is the nation’s largest private-sector employer, contributing $3.9 trillion to annual GDP and supporting one in four U.S. jobs – 52 million working Americans. Explore how retail impacts the U.S. economy and dive into retail stats for each state.

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Monthly Economic Review

Each month, NRF reviews the state of the U.S. economy, including consumer sentiment, employment, housing, retail sales and other leading economic indicators.

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NRF Annual Forecast

The NRF annual forecast anticipates the retail sales growth for the year in conjunction with NRF’s annual State of Retail & the Consumer event, where retail industry leaders discuss the strength of the consumer economy and the future of retail.

Global Port Tracker

An evaluation of port data including container import volume, vessel services, congestion, gate operations and new transportation projects.

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Retail Sales

Monthly retail sales figures from NRF, excluding automobiles, gasoline stations and restaurants.

More economic resources

Monthly Economic Review

Monthly Economic Review: August 2023

Economy remained resilient in first half of 2023 but pace is lessening.

Monthly Economic Review

Growth in Consumer Spending is Slowing

Consumers are still buying more, but spending growth is slowing as the economy settles down.

Retail Sales

Retail Sales Grew Again in June

Retail sales continued to rise in June even as employment grew more slowly, NRF said.