Retail sales projections inch up for the second half of the year

More often than not, the lion’s share of economic activity in the United States stems from consumer purchases, which comprise roughly two-thirds of domestic economic output.

That said, most anything and everything related to consumer spending is closely scrutinized and tracked, whether it be automotive and housing sales, and things more related to day-to-day consumer spending like department stores, big-box retailers, and e-commerce-related shopping, among things, as well. It also goes without saying that retail sales activity is closely monitored by supply chain stakeholders top determine things like volume trends according to seasonality and other things related to strategy such as asset allocation for motor carriers, railroads, and intermodal service providers, and also more forward-looking things like site selection for 3PL’s and warehousing and distribution types.

In short, when it comes to retail sales-related news and data, it is something that holds the ear of basically all supply chain stakeholders.

That is why it was interesting to see last week’s data issued by the National Retail Federation (NFR), in which the organization lowered its 2014 retail sales forecast, due to a slow first six months of the year (and largely negatively influenced by the terrible winter weather), but noting that retail sales are expected to be strong over the next five months to finish the year.

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