As the nation’s largest private-sector employer, retail contributes $3.9 trillion to the annual GDP – that is, 18.7% of the U.S. economy, and supporting 1 in 4 American jobs.

Despite the effects of the coronavirus pandemic (i.e. When sales decreased nearly 9% in March 2020 – the largest one-month drop for retail sales in American history since the U.S. Department of Commerce began recording these stats in 1992), U.S. retail sales increased in 2019, 2020, and 2021 – a total of $5.4, $5.6, and $6.5 billion respectively.

However, as inflation rises, it is projected that U.S. retail sales will decrease year-over-year in 2022. Sales in May 2022 were down 0.3%, marking the first drop in sales in five months, suggesting that high inflation is starting to hurt demand.

Smart and responsible retailers are now demanding relief for U.S. business, workers, and consumers to ease the strain of inflation – and are seeking new strategies to optimize business.

As consumer behavior evolves to alleviate the effects of the pandemic and looming recession, so will the strategies of retailers. Value chains will become more flexible, distributed and nimble with a greater focus on transparency, performance and reliability.