The largest retail trade group in the United States says it expects consumers to spend more during the upcoming holiday season but the growth in sales to be slower than last year due to concerns over persistent inflation and prices.

The largest U.S. retail trade group is forecasting that the country's retail sales will increase anywhere between 2.5% and 3.5% this year.

The day after Christmas is a busy one for sales associates at stores who are expecting people to return or exchange gifts and benefit from sales.

Mastercard SpendingPulse said Tuesday that holiday sales rose this year.

The National Retail Federation has revised a report released in April that pulls back the claim that organized retail crime accounts for nearly half of overall industry shrink, which measures overall loss in inventory, including theft.

Consumers are scouring the internet for online deals as they begin to cap off the five-day post-Thanksgiving shopping bonanza with Cyber Monday.

The National Retail Federation, the nation’s largest retail trade group, expects shoppers will spend more this year than last year, but their spending pace will slow given all the economic uncertainty.

These are the estimates from the National Retail Federation.

Sales growth for the holiday 2022 season slowed more than expected from its blistering pace a year ago as higher borrowing costs and higher inflation made shoppers pull back, according to the nation’s largest retail trade group.

Americans cut back on spending in December, the second consecutive month they’ve done so, underscoring how inflation and the rising cost of using credit cards slowed consumer activity over the crucial holiday shopping season.

Here’s a synopsis of both the historical elements of Easter that people might not know about, and the modern financial windfall Easter is expected to be in 2022.

He says a major concern is a semiconductor shortage, the technology used in many appliances, televisions and cars.

Americans overlooked shortages, spiking prices and uncertainty over the omicron variant to break spending records during the critical holiday shopping season.

Holiday sales rose at the fastest pace in 17 years, even as shoppers grappled with higher prices, product shortages and a raging new COVID-19 variant in the last few weeks of the season, according to one spending measure.

On this year’s Black Friday, things almost seem normal.

The National Retail Federation expects that holiday sales gain could shatter last year’s record-breaking season even as a snarled global supply chain slows the flow of goods and results in higher prices for broad range of items.

Whether it’s shortages that are driving up prices of certain items or enthusiasm for the day in general, one thing is clear: It looks like there will be a lot of money spent on Halloween this year.

The January spending increase followed two straight monthly spending drops that had raised concerns that consumers, who power most of the economy, were hunkered down, too anxious to travel, shop and spend. Consumers saved a significant chunk of their income last month: The personal savings rate jumped to 20.5% from 13.4% in December. It was the highest savings rate since May of last year in the aftermath of pandemic's eruption. AdGregory Daco, chief economist at Oxford Economics, said he thinks the high savings rate, combined with pent-up consumer demand and further federal aid, will lift economic growth this year to 7%. “The combination of a healthier economy and more government stimulus should generate a strong rebound by the middle of the year.”

(AP Photo/John Raoux)NEW YORK – Retail sales fell for a third straight month as a surge in virus cases kept people away from stores during the critical holiday shopping season. The U.S. Commerce Department said retail sales fell a seasonally adjusted 0.7% in December from the month before. Department store chain Nordstrom, lingerie seller Victoria’s Secret and clothing retailer Urban Outfitters all said sales fell during the holidays. The Commerce Department said shoppers cut back on spending at electronic and department stores. At clothing stores, sales rose 2.4% after dropping 16% for the year.

LEXINGTON, Va. – A Lexington businessman has been elected to serve on the National Retail Federation’s Small Business Council. John Morman says he hopes his advocacy work helps small businesses in the area, like his own, that are suffering in the pandemic. Morman says the council has several asks of elected leaders through their “take action” initiative, which calls for more federal aid through stimulus, PPP loans and then loan forgiveness. “I think it would be the final nail in the coffin for a number of businesses,” said Morman in response to possible coronavirus related restrictions. He began serving on the council just before Thanksgiving.

NEW YORK – The National Retail Federation, the nation's largest retail trade group, expects that holiday sales could actually exceed growth seen in prior seasons, despite all the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic. Holiday sales have averaged gains of 3.5% over the past five years. Not included in total sales figure are sales from restaurants, gas stations and auto dealers. Still, the NRF cited that the aggregate retail sales have seen a V-shaped recovery, growing both month-over-month and year-over-year each month since June. For the first ten months of this year, retail sales rose 6.4% compared with the first 10 months of 2019.

Buy a gift card, get a gift from Target. For one day only, this Sunday, if you buy a gift card, you’ll get 10% off. Gift cards are the most popular holiday gift. In fact, the National Retail Federation says they’re topping Christmas lists for the 13th year in a row. Only gift cards under $300 dollars get the deal, but you’ll be able to use the card the next day.

Faced with the shortest holiday shopping season since 2013, retailers are trying to figure out ways to get into the minds of shoppers sooner. "This is going to be a very compressed holiday season," Target's CEO Brian Cornell told reporters during last week's holiday preview in New York. That leaves the holiday shopping season with six fewer days than last year. Jack Kleinhenz, chief economist at trade group National Retail Federation, says he baked the shorter season into his holiday forecast. The last time the holiday season was cut short, in 2013, sales rose a modest 2.9%, according to NRF's analysis of holiday spending.

Getty Images via CNN(CNN) - Retailers expect consumers to deliver another strong holiday shopping season, even as the trade war hangs over the economy. Even so, retail sales in November and December will nevertheless grow between 3.8% and 4.2%, to up to $730 billion, the National Retail Federation predicted Thursday. Holiday sales have increased by an average of 3.7% over the past five years, according to the group. Job growth, a low unemployment rate and rising wages will bolster holiday spending, Shay said. The trade war between China and the United States, the world's two largest economies, is weighing on retailers.