NRF Seeks Policy Help To Relieve Price Pressure; CE Store Sales Fall 9% YoY
The National Retail Federation urged the Biden administration Friday to enact policies to relieve inflationary pressure and lower costs for consumers, reporting September retail sales -- excluding automobile dealers, gas stations and restaurants -- were about flat with August and…
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up 7.2% year on year. “While the Federal Reserve tackles long-term actions meant to end inflation, we believe removing China tariffs, enacting smart immigration reform to address the worker shortage, and increasing investments in supply chain resiliency can and will have an immediate impact on consumers and the economy,” said NRF CEO Matthew Shay. Going into the holiday season, shoppers are “increasingly seeking deals and discounts to make their dollars stretch,” and retailers are responding, Shay said. Households are “tapping into savings, accessing credit and reducing their savings contributions as they meet higher prices head on,” said NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz: “Shoppers are looking for bargains and value in the current economic environment and even more so as we head into the holiday season,” he said. “Consumer demand remained intact during September and continues to be a key contributor to economic activity,” Kleinhenz said, but sales were “uneven across retail categories” with inflation determining how much shoppers are willing to spend, he said. Electronics and appliance stores were the only category to post a year-on-year retail sales drop, falling 8.9% year on year and 0.8% vs. August, NRF said.