The NRF Foundation, the careers and education division of the National Retail Federation, announced the launch of its new Retail Insight Center, a website designed to serve as a resource for researching industry, government, economic and consumer trends within the retail industry.
The Retail Insight Center is made possible by a generous contribution from KPMG LLP, the U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm.
This new website will feature analysis and highlights of NRF’s consumer spending surveys, key government indicators that relate to the economy, retail and employment, and other unique datasets surrounding retail companies, purchasing influencers and economic trends.
Additionally, as a unique benefit of the Insight Center, the NRF Foundation will release quarterly reports on industry topics that will be available for visitors to download. These reports will offer an in-depth look at research surrounding industry issues and trends.
“Over the years, the National Retail Federation has built a solid reputation as a key source for consumer, industry and government data as it relates to retail, and the Retail Insight Center now lets us package all of that valuable data into one place,” said NRF Foundation Executive Director Ellen Davis.
“The Retail Insight Center will offer retailers, the media and consumers instant access to some of the most important trends in retail careers and employment, holiday spending and insights into key economic indicators and influencers impacting consumers’ spending plans.”
“Understanding how outside influences impact retail spending is key to maintaining a successful business in the industry,” said Mark Larson, KPMG global retail leader. “KPMG is proud to sponsor the Retail Insight Center and provide support to the NRF Foundation in building a tool that will provide this invaluable industry information to current and future business leaders.”
The Insight Center, powered by Prosper Insights & Analytics, is built with interactive features that allow users to customize and sort charts and graphs to fit each user’s needs. The Retail Insight Center will pull data from multiple sources, including the U.S. Census Department, the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Department of Commerce, NRF’s unique research, and BIGinsight. Additionally, the Retail Insight Center offers consumer demographical information such as age, gender, and region, which can be used to build and download reports specific to their research.
Highlights of the Retail Insight Center include:
- Ability to build and customize charts;
- Easy access to relevant blog posts from Retail’s BIG Blog and the Shop.org Blog, as well as links to press releases;
- Historical data that includes yearly sales, employment by retail sector, and monthly retail employment;
- The most up-to-date information on e-Commerce sales and quarterly changes;
- Historical consumer spending information for holidays, such as Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Halloween and Christmas/winter holidays;
- Specific data relating to the size and scope of retail companies;
- Features that allow users to easily “share” a page through social media channels and email.
