Customers wearing protective masks leave a Uniqlo store in San Francisco, California on Wednesday, February 17, 2021.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Retail sales are expected to grow between 6.5% and 8.2% this year, amounting to more than $ 4.33 trillion in sales, as the U.S. economy begins to open -se and more and more people are receiving the Covid vaccine, the National Retail Federation reported on Wednesday.
A preliminary reading shows retail sales grew 6.7% to $ 4.06 trillion last year, the industry’s leading trading group said. This was largely driven by almost 22% online growth.
Throughout the year, more Americans turned to websites and apps to buy groceries, comfortable clothes, and household items. The numbers exclude car dealerships, gas stations and restaurants.
“The trajectory of the economy is based on the effectiveness of the vaccine and its distribution,” Jack Kleinhenz, chief economist at NRF, said in a statement.
“Our main assumption is that vaccination will be effective and allow for accelerated growth by mid-year,” he said. “The economy is expected to experience its fastest growth in more than two decades.”
Read the full version of NRF here.
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