By all accounts, 2018 was a great year for retail.

Retailers embraced newer, more convenient ways to shop online and with phones. Their investments in technology to make the switch including making supply chains more efficient began to pay off. The predictions of a retail apocalypse also quieted down.

“There are going to continue to be companies that may not successfully make the transition to the new retail,” said Matthew Shay, President and CEO of the National Retail Federation. “That’s not different from the way the world has always been.”

NRF projects continued growth for the industry this year due to four main factors:

• Consumer confidence remains high
• Unemployment rates are at historically low levels
• Wages continue to grow
• Consumer spending power is gaining traction.

Listen to more of what Shay sees in store for this year on NRF’s Retail Gets Real podcast.