Retailers are ordering more product to sell to consumers, an optimistic signal that suggests many merchants remain confident they will do more business than they did last year.

According to the National Retail Federation's report, import cargo value grew a minimal 1.6 percent in July compared to the same time last year. Moving forward through the "back to school" and holiday seasons, modest year-over-year increases are expected to continue.

"Whether consumers are going to have the confidence to spend during the next few months depends on what happens with employment, but retailers are being cautiously optimistic," NRF vice president of supply chain and customs policy Jonathan Gold said. "Sales can fluctuate from month to month, but these import numbers show that retailers are still expecting this year to be better than last year."

Total shipments hit 1.34 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) in May (precise figures are released by the NRF on a rolling basis after the fact). A single TEU is one 20-foot cargo container or something equivalent to that volume.

Inventory management software, such as the solutions offered by Retail Pro, enable merchants to better plan for busy seasons as they order their products.