Chains expect sales to slow, but how much is still the question

Retailers are trying to bring their inventories in line with consumer demand. Almost all expect that demand will slow in the back half of 2022 as inflation continues to eat into discretionary spending. “The uncertainty moving forward is significant,” said Erik Nordstrom, CEO of Nordstrom. “There’s cases to be made that things could get better pretty quickly, and then there’s credible cases to be made that it’s going to be tough.”