# Retail Staffing and Productivity Trends in Australia for 2026

URL: https://ecomchannels.com/insights/retail-staffing-productivity-trends-australia/
Category: Operations & overhead
Updated: 2026-10-30

> Retail employs 1.34 million Australians, award wages rose 4.75% and productivity growth is flat. What staffing trends mean for online retailers' costs.

Australian retail is a large, part-time, award-reliant workforce facing rising wage costs and weak productivity growth. Retail employs about 1.34 million people, half of them part-time; minimum award wages rose 4.75% from 1 July 2026; and Jobs and Skills Australia projects retail to have one of the lowest employment growth rates of any industry. For online retailers, that combination means growth has to come from more output per person, mainly by removing manual admin, rather than from adding headcount at the same pace as orders.

## The shape of the retail workforce

Jobs and Skills Australia's [Retail Trade profile](https://www.jobsandskills.gov.au/data/occupation-and-industry-profiles/industries/retail-trade) shows 1,338,300 people employed, 9.1% of the workforce, making it the second-largest employing industry. Half of retail workers are part-time, 55% are female, the median age is 33, and median full-time weekly earnings are $1,300, below the all-industries median of $1,741.

Casual work is a large part of the mix, though declining overall. The ABS reported that [19% of employees were casual](https://www.abs.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/casual-work-continues-decline) in their main job in August 2025, down from about 23% in 2016. Casuals in accommodation and food services, retail trade, and health care and social assistance together made up 53% of all casual employees.

Retail is also one of the slower-growing industries. Jobs and Skills Australia's [employment projections](https://www.jobsandskills.gov.au/data/employment-projections/industry) note retail accounted for 9.2% of total employment in May 2025 but has one of the lowest projected employment growth rates over the next five and ten years, reflecting a shift in spending towards services and cost-of-living pressures.

## Wage costs are rising

Retail is one of the sectors most affected by the Annual Wage Review. The Fair Work Commission's [2026 decision](https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/resources/annual-wage-review-2026-decision-announcement.pdf) notes about 21.1% of all employees, almost 2.8 million people, are paid at a modern award minimum rate, and that four industries, including retail trade, account for over two-thirds of award-reliant employees.

From 1 July 2026, [minimum award wages increased by 4.75%](https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/workplace-laws/annual-wage-review/annual-wage-review-2026), with the lowest ongoing award rate set at no less than $26.44 an hour. For a small online retailer whose packing, customer service and admin staff are on award rates, that flows straight into the cost of each order processed.

## Productivity is the pressure point

Rising wages are manageable when output per hour rises too. Nationally, that has been slow. The Productivity Commission's [Annual productivity bulletin 2025](https://www.pc.gov.au/ongoing/productivity-insights/bulletins/bulletin-2025/) found market sector labour productivity rose 1.1% between 2022-23 and 2023-24, almost entirely from more capital per worker, while multifactor productivity, which reflects better ways of combining labour and capital, rose just 0.1%, below its 20-year average of 0.3%. The Commission's point was that applying existing ideas and "doing more with what we have" matters, not just cutting-edge innovation.

The gap is sharper for small business. Deloitte Access Economics notes [SMBs lag larger enterprises in productivity per hour worked](https://www.deloitte.com/au/en/about/press-room/ai-edge-small-business-increased-smb-ai-adoption-can-add-44-billion-australias-economy-251125.html), and that more than half of SMB workforces have only basic or novice familiarity with AI, with just 10% at advanced skill levels.

## Too many tools, too much switching

Part of the productivity problem is system sprawl. Salesforce's [Connected Shoppers research](https://www.salesforce.com/au/retail/retail-industry-trends/) found new retail hires must learn 16 different tools on average, up from 12 in 2023, and that store associates spend only 28% of their time at the checkout, with the rest spread across fulfilment, customer service and store operations. More systems mean longer onboarding and more time switching rather than serving.

Online retailers see the same pattern in the back office: a portal for each marketplace, a courier site, a spreadsheet for stock and another for payouts. Each extra screen adds minutes per order and another place for errors.

## What this means for online retailers

- **Plan for wage growth, not headcount growth.** Budget for award increases and aim to process more orders per person-hour each year.
- **Automate the admin, keep people on judgement.** Order capture, stock sync, labels, tracking and reconciliation are rule-based; customer issues, merchandising and supplier relationships are not.
- **Consolidate systems.** Fewer tools means faster onboarding for part-time and casual staff, which matters in a workforce where half work part-time.
- **Make processes system-led.** Documented, system-driven workflows reduce reliance on one or two experienced people.
- **Invest in skills.** Short, practical training on the tools you actually use pays back quickly.

For a worked approach to payback, see [automation ROI for small retailers](https://ecomchannels.com/insights/automation-roi-small-retailers/), and for seasonal pressure, [scaling peak season without hiring](https://ecomchannels.com/insights/scale-peak-season-without-hiring/).

## Key figures

- Retail employs 1,338,300 people (9.1% of the workforce); 50% work part-time ([Jobs and Skills Australia, 2026](https://www.jobsandskills.gov.au/data/occupation-and-industry-profiles/industries/retail-trade)).
- Minimum award wages rose 4.75% from 1 July 2026 ([Fair Work Ombudsman, 2026](https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/workplace-laws/annual-wage-review/annual-wage-review-2026)).
- About 21.1% of employees, almost 2.8 million people, are paid award minimum rates ([Fair Work Commission, 2026](https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/resources/annual-wage-review-2026-decision-announcement.pdf)).
- Market sector multifactor productivity rose just 0.1% in 2023-24 ([Productivity Commission, 2025](https://www.pc.gov.au/ongoing/productivity-insights/bulletins/bulletin-2025/)).
- New retail hires need to learn 16 different tools, up from 12 in 2023 ([Salesforce, 2025](https://www.salesforce.com/au/retail/retail-industry-trends/)).

## How eComChannels helps

eComChannels replaces a stack of portals and spreadsheets with one workspace. [Order management](https://ecomchannels.com/products/order-management/) brings orders and stock from every connected marketplace and store into one queue, so staff learn one system instead of a dozen seller portals. [AI auto shipping](https://ecomchannels.com/products/ai-shipping/) creates labels, manifests and tracking for Australia Post, StarTrack, CouriersPlease and Allied Express automatically, and [Finance auto reconciliation](https://ecomchannels.com/products/finance-reconciliation/) matches marketplace settlements to orders and fees.

That lowers the admin minutes in every order, so the same team can handle more volume and more channels as wages rise, and new or part-time staff become productive faster because the system carries the process. The time saved can go into range, listings and customer service, which drive sales. To see what it would change in your operation, [book a demo or start a 30-day free trial](https://ecomchannels.com/book-a-demo/).

## FAQ

### How much did award wages rise in 2026?

The Fair Work Commission increased minimum award wages by 4.75% from 1 July 2026, subject to minimum floor rates set out by the Fair Work Ombudsman. This followed a [3.5% increase in July 2025](https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/workplace-laws/annual-wage-review/annual-wage-review-2024-2025). Check your specific award for exact rates.

### Is retail employment growing in Australia?

Retail remains the second-largest employing industry, but Jobs and Skills Australia projects one of the lowest employment growth rates of any industry over the next five and ten years.

### How can a small retailer lift productivity without big capital spending?

Start by removing re-keying between systems: automate order capture, stock sync, shipping labels and reconciliation. These are low-cost changes that reduce minutes per order and onboarding time.

## Sources
- Retail Trade industry profile, Jobs and Skills Australia (2026): https://www.jobsandskills.gov.au/data/occupation-and-industry-profiles/industries/retail-trade
- Employment Projections - Industry outlook, Jobs and Skills Australia (2025): https://www.jobsandskills.gov.au/data/employment-projections/industry
- Minimum wages increase from 1 July 2026, Fair Work Ombudsman (2026): https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/workplace-laws/annual-wage-review/annual-wage-review-2026
- Annual Wage Review 2026 – Announcement of Decision, Fair Work Commission (2026): https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/resources/annual-wage-review-2026-decision-announcement.pdf
- 2024–2025 Annual Wage Review, Fair Work Ombudsman (2025): https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/workplace-laws/annual-wage-review/annual-wage-review-2024-2025
- Casual work continues to decline, Australian Bureau of Statistics (2025): https://www.abs.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/casual-work-continues-decline
- Annual productivity bulletin 2025, Productivity Commission (2025): https://www.pc.gov.au/ongoing/productivity-insights/bulletins/bulletin-2025/
- 17 Retail Industry Trends That Will Shape 2026 (Connected Shoppers Report, 6th edition), Salesforce (2025): https://www.salesforce.com/au/retail/retail-industry-trends/
- The AI edge for small business: Increased SMB AI adoption can add $44 billion to Australia's economy, Deloitte Access Economics (2025): https://www.deloitte.com/au/en/about/press-room/ai-edge-small-business-increased-smb-ai-adoption-can-add-44-billion-australias-economy-251125.html