The National Retail Federation said Wednesday that it expects a year of healthy though hardly stellar growth for the industry in 2016, releasing a forecast that sales will rise about 3.1 percent.br The trade group said retailers should finally start to see a bump in sales thanks to lower gas prices.br Retailers first started talking about a potential boost from the falling price of oil in late 2014, but so far, there hasn’t been much evidence of an increase.br Consumers, it seems, are largely opting to use those dollars to pay down debt or pad their savings accounts.br But Matthew Shay, NRF’s president, said this year might be different, as perhaps consumers start to think of low gas prices not as just a temporary blip, but as a new baseline for their household budgets.br NRF also predicts that the labor market and broader economic conditions will continue to strengthen, further helping the retail industry deliver sales growth.