Little is certain about omicron's impact on consumer demand, but people who stay at home because of the variant are more likely to spend their money on retail goods rather than dining out or in-person entertainment, according to National Retail Federation Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz.
Kleinhenz remarked in NRF's January Monthly Economic Review that such a scenario would put further pressure on inflation "since supply chains are already overloaded across the globe."
Inflation, which was driven by shortages of goods as COVID-19 shut down factories and snarled supply chains while government stimulus fueled consumer spending, is likely to continue in 2022, but should eventually slow, NRF said.
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