© Dukascopy Bank
"This year's retail industry growth will be "incremental, modest"
- Matthew Shay, Chief Executive Officer at NRF
U.S. retail industry expansion will contract to 3.4 per cent in 2012 from 4.7 per cent in 2011, hampered by difficult situation on the housing market, said the Washington-based National Retail Federation.
This year's expansion will be "incremental, modest," said NRF Chief Executive Officer Matthew Shay in an interview on Sunday at the organization's annual convention in New York. The housing slump is the "biggest drag" on the U.S., he added.
"The economy is not growing at the pace we would hope," Shay said. "Consumers are finding a way to get out there and spend. But the consumers are different today. They are much more focused on value. They are much more informed than they ever were."