With news headlines shouting doom and gloom in so many directions, is the National Retail Federation’s record-breaking $1 trillion holiday forecast wishful thinking? Or something more nuanced?

“The consumer is sentimentally weak, but fundamentally sound,” explained Mark Mathews, chief economist and executive director of research for the National Retail Federation ( NRF ) in a special podcast episode for Retail Rx with Ian Fredericks, chief executive officer of Hilco Global Capital Solutions and executive director of Hilco’s Consumer and Retail platform. That’s important because the consumer is powering our economy more than ever before. Today, 68 percent of GDP is driven by consumer spending — the largest percentage in the past 15 years.

[To listen to the podcast on Retail Rx, CLICK H

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