Faster growth seen for US retail industry

The National Retail Federation on Thursday projected U.S. retail industry sales will rise 4.1 percent this year, a bigger gain than in 2013, citing its expectation of faster economic growth and continued improvement in the job market in 2014.

Retail industry sales rose 3.7 percent last year, the NRF said.

The industry group also predicted online sales would rise between 9 percent and 12 percent this year.