NRF Lowers Expectations

The National Retail Federation expects retail sales for the second half of 2014 to outperform the first half of the year, but is lowering overall expectations for the year. Jack Kleinhenz, NRF chief economist, says second-half sales should grow by at least 3.9 percent, compared with the 2.9 percent recorded in the first half of 2014.

However, the uptick is not enough to save a languishing year: “In the aftermath of a cold start for retailers and a major downshift in overall U.S. economic growth earlier this year,” the trade group revised its overall growth forecast from 4.1 percent to 3.6 percent.