Regardless of contradictions in financial indicators, retail gross sales development stays on monitor as retailers enter the busy vacation season.
“The financial information calendar was fairly busy on the finish October however whereas there have been contradictions and blended indicators, we proceed to imagine the U.S. economic system stays in place,” Nationwide Retail Federation Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz acknowledged within the November difficulty of NRF’s Month-to-month Financial Overview. “Most significantly, the brand new information does not change our 2024 vacation forecast or retail gross sales projections for the 12 months.”
In mid October, the NRF forecast for retail gross sales in the course of the November-December vacation season predicted a rise between 2.5% and three.5% over 2023 to a complete of between $979.5 billion and $989 billion.
Two weeks later, authorities information confirmed the economic system had gained solely 12,000 jobs throughout October and that the annual tempo of gross home product development had slowed to 2.8% within the third quarter from 3% within the second quarter.
The NRF mentioned it’s too quickly to foretell the impression of election outcomes on the economic system for the rest of the 12 months or the impact they are going to have going ahead, in line with a press launch on the November difficulty of the Month-to-month Financial Overview.
“Placing all these issues collectively, this vacation season appears to be like superb,” Kleinhenz mentioned within the launch. “I’m optimistic concerning the tempo of financial exercise within the last quarter of the 12 months.”
