Wages in the retail sector have risen - with the average wage reaching $30.94 per hour, up 1 percent on last year.
This comes amid difficult conditions impacting the sector, which faced shrinking margins and falling sales.
It was also lower than the annual rate of inflation, which was 4.1 percent in the June quarter.
Retail NZ CEO Carolyn Young says many workers also make extra money off commissions - and the sector offers significant contributions to workers' KiwiSavers.
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