The National Retail Federation took a more optimistic look at retail recovery with its June guidance updates, while Mastercard’s SpendingPulse is calling for a robust Back-to-School season. NRF’s annual forecast now calls for full year growth of between 10.5% and 13.5% to over $4.44 trillion, compared to its prior forecast of at least 6.5% growth released in February. SpendingPulse is calling for 5.5% year-over-year growth for the July 15 to Sep. 6 period as school openings normalize and more workers return to offices in the same timeframe.

SpendingPulse is projecting a total retail sales gain (excluding auto and gas sales) of ... Log in to view full article.