Associations

Retailers shouldn’t expect consumer tax refunds to equate into a sales boom anytime soon.   A record low number of Americans will spend their tax returns this year, while the second-highest number on record will put the money into savings, according to the annual tax return survey released by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. The study, which is based on responses from 7,609 consumers, was conducted Feb. 1 - Feb. 8.  

Payment card fees is a sore subject for the retail industry — especially with the possibility that a settlement is being revisited by parties seeking an appeal.   The National Retail Federation and the Retail Industry Leaders Associa-tion requested that the U.S. Supreme Court let stand an appeals court rul-ing that struck down a controversial 2012 settlement of a class action lawsuit over Visa and MasterCard’s swipe card fees.  

The National Retail Federation has high expectations for the nation’s next secretary of labor.   On the heels of Alexander Acosta’s nomination to head the federal Department of Labor on Thursday, Feb. 16, the retail trade association’s senior VP for government relations David French released the following statement:  

Chain Store Age will be closed on Monday, Feb. 20, in observance of Presidents' Day. We will reopen and resume our normal schedule on Tuesday, Feb. 21. 

The Retail Design Institute has extend the deadline for submission of entries to the International Store Design Competition to March 1, 2017   Design firms and in-house retail design teams from around the globe are invited to submit projects for the Retail Design Institute’s annual competition. Eligible projects are those completed between January 1 and December 31, 2016.     

The National Retail Federation’s economic forecast for 2017 is a mostly positive one.   The association is projecting that retail industry sales, which exclude automobiles, gasoline stations and restaurants, will grow between 3.7% and 4.2% over 2016, roughly in line with last year’s 3.8% increase.     Online and other non-store/online sales, which are included in the overall number, are expected to increase between 8% and 12%.  

The Americans with Disabilities Act with be the focus of a special, double-session at Chain Store Age’s upcoming SPECS conference (March 12-14, at the Gaylord Palms, Kissimmee, Florida).     Presented by Joan Stein, president of Joan Stein Consulting and one of the nation’s leading ADA experts, the session will examine non-compliance issues, the impact of after-construction changes, how to avoid mitigation costs, and remediation and business interruption.