National Retail Federation

The National Retail Federation (NRF) is the world's largest retail trade association. Its members include department stores, catalog, Internet, and independent retailers, restaurants, grocery stores, multi-level marketing companies and vendors.

NRF represents the largest private-sector industry in the United States that contains over 3.8 million retail establishments, supporting more than 52 million employees.

History
The NRF began in 1911 as the National Retail Dry Goods Association (NRDGA). This was also the year of its first annual meeting. In 1958, the NRDGA was renamed the National Retail Merchants Association. In 1990, the association and the American Retail Federation merged to form the National Retail Federation. During all the years, an annual convention was held for members. The National Retail Federation (NRF) is the world's largest retail trade association, with members including department store, specialty, discount, catalogue, Internet, and independent retailers, chain restaurants, and grocery stores. It is also an umbrella group that represents more than 100 associations of state, national and international retailers.

In 2023, the group had to retract inaccurate claims it had made about the prevalence of organized shoplifting. The group had claimed that for 2021 nearly half of the industry's $94.5 billion in missing merchandise was the result of organized shoplifting. In doing so, the group amplified rhetoric that the United States was undergoing a wave of shoplifting. However, experts noted that the group used faulty data and that the figure was closer to 5%.

Lobbying
NRF has argued that there is a harmful economic impact of the trade war with China.

In November 2019, NRF called on lawmakers to adopt a “uniform and fair framework” for the handling of sensitive data.

2017
The NRF successfully lobbied for passage of long-sought comprehensive tax reform that lowered rates for individuals and businesses alike, and said the measure would help create jobs while leaving workers with more take-home pay. During the year-long debate, NRF defeated a proposed “border adjustment tax” that would have driven up the price of imported consumers goods by 20 percent and which nearly sidetracked tax reform. The NRF's campaign against the import tax was highlighted by an infomercial-style television ad aired on Saturday Night Live that explained how the tax would raise prices and kill jobs.

NRF supported legislation passed by the House to repeal the Affordable Care Act and its employer mandate, which requires businesses to provide workers with health insurance at levels dictated by the government. Since passed in 2010, some retailers have kept payrolls below the 50-worker level to avoid triggering the law and to keep workers below the 30-hour a week definition of full time that requires coverage. The measure passed the House but died in the Senate.

NRF defeated an effort to repeal debit card swipe fee reform that has saved retailers and their customers an estimated $8 billion a year since 2011, blocking an effort to allow the card industry to resume price-fixing of debit card fees.

2018
After fighting for online sales tax collection in Congress and the courts for over 15 years, NRF welcomed a Supreme Court ruling in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. allowing states to require online sellers to collect sales tax the same as local stores. The ruling came after NRF submitted friend-of-the-court briefs in the case arguing that modern software had removed any burden once associated with collecting sales tax and that the lack of sales tax collection had given online sellers an unfair price advantage over local stores.

NRF and other groups seeking patent reform won when the Supreme Court upheld a process that allows questionable patents to be reviewed administratively rather than requiring litigation. The ruling will help rein in “patent trolls,” which have targeted retailers with frivolous lawsuits over off-the-shelf technology and routine practices like attaching a file to an email.

2019
NRF championed a Department of Labor final rule, which expanded overtime pay eligibility. The final rule was applauded by NRF as a reasonable, thoughtful approach to updating the nation's overtime rates, bringing overtime eligibility up to speed with the modern economy.

2020
NRF successfully advocated for the CARES Act, signed into law in 2020 to provide relief for retailers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic which included: $350 billion Paycheck Protection Program, expansion of unemployment insurance, relief for retail workers and consumers and corrected the qualified improvement property (QIP) error in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).

2021
In September 2021, NRF launched an advocacy campaign "S.O.S: Save Our Shipments" in response to the crisis in American's supply chains. The campaign outlined three ways to address the supply chain crisis, which included passing the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, adding more truck drivers to the workforce and passing the Ocean Shipping Reform Act. All three legislative items were enacted by 2022.

2022
NRF successfully lobbied for passage of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act to helps address longstanding systemic supply chain and port disruption issues that was signed into law by President Biden in June 2022.

2023
In December 2023, NRF retracted a claim it had made in April that "nearly half" of retail inventory shrinkage in 2021 was attributable to organized retail crime (ORC). Data actually showed that 37% of shrinkage was attributable to all external theft, not limited to ORC.

Conferences
In 2018, Big Show had more than 300 speakers, 500 exhibitors, 36,500 attendees and 500 sessions. In 2019, Big Show had 500 speakers, 700 exhibitors, 37,000 attendees and 500 sessions.

In 2020, Big Show had more than 300 speakers, 800 exhibitors, 40,000 attendees and 200 sessions. In 2023, the 113th annual convention of the National Retail Federation, NRF 2023: Retail's Big Show, brought together more than 35,000 attendees.

Leadership
In mid-March 2010, the NRF announced that Matt Shay, who had headed the International Franchise Association (IFA), would become NRF's president and CEO on May 10, 2010, replacing Tracy Mullin, who was retiring. Mullin joined NRF in 1976 and became president in 1993. Shay joined the IFA in 1993 and was named president in 2004 and chief executive in 2007.

During his time at the helm, Shay is credited with doubling the organization's revenue. The largest revenue source, conferences and conventions like the Big Show and Shop.org, increased by nearly two and a half times, and its net assets have quadrupled, according to information provided to Retail Dive from the NRF. The organization's membership base has grown up to 18,000 retailers today, many of which are small businesses. Shay also notably brought on Walmart in 2013 after decades of courting.

Retail sales
The National Retail Federation releases an annual retail sales forecast each spring. NRF forecasted that 2024 retail sales would be between 2.5% and 3.5% to between $5.23 trillion and $5.28 trillion.

The 2024 sales forecast compares with 3.6% annual sales growth of $5.1 trillion in 2023. undefinedThe 2024 forecast is in line with the 10-year pre-pandemic average annual sales growth of 3.6%. Additionally, NRF issues a retail sales forecast for each winter holiday season. Retail sales during the 2023 November to December holiday season grew 3.8% over 2022 to a record $964.4 billion.

COVID-19 Pandemic
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, NRF has asked the federal government to step in to support retailers coping with a serious downturn in discretionary spending. In March, NRF called for mandatory default and foreclosure stays or federally ordered rent abatement to relieve retailers faced with closure orders.

NRF also suggested government-backed loans and tax relief, including reinstatement of the net operating loss carryback, assistance with payroll costs, and expansion of employee retention tax credits to retailers with financial losses related to the decline in purchases of most goods beyond food and other essentials.

In July, NRF asked for further financial assistance for retailers in a letter to congressional leadership. The letter requested an increase in funding to loan and financial assistance programs to help retailers retain employees, including expediting the Paycheck Protection Program loan forgiveness for all loans up to $150,000.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, NRF's educational arm, the NRF Foundation, offered its introductory training course, Retail Industry Fundamentals, for free. This was done to support individuals applying for the almost 1 million jobs posted by U.S. retailers. NRF compiled those positions on its website job board.

National associations and members represented
NRF members include department, specialty, discount, catalog, internet, independent stores, chain restaurants, drug stores, grocery stores and retail associations.