NEW YORK – It’s been a tough year for brick-and-mortar stores in the U.S., but retailers are seeing a rebound. As a result, they’re boosting wages for hourly workers and bonuses for senior executives, according to two separate studies released this week and reported by Reuters.

Wages for cashiers and retail buyers have grown, indicating that the tight labor market is finally translating into base-pay gains for retail employees, according to data gathered from millions of U.S. worker salaries by employment website Glassdoor.

The Glassdoor study shows that wages for retail cashiers in July grew by 5.4% to $28,145 from a year earlier. Buyers, who purchase merchandise from manufacturers, saw a 2.1% increase to $58,090 annually.

“Despite weak hiring ... retail jobs experienced pay gains above the national average, likely caused by the increasing demand for workers who specialize in customer service and integrate more technical knowledge,” said Andrew Chamberlain, Glassdoor chief economist.

The second study, conducted by Korn Ferry, a consultant and executive search firm, found that almost one-third of retail corporate executives received at least 100% of their targeted bonus, more than double the percentage (15%) of executives receiving that amount during the same period in early 2017.

A Korn Ferry senior partner told Reuters that the current fiscal year has reversed a five-year trend of fewer executives receiving bonuses. Senior retail executives who received no bonuses grew from 10% in 2013 to 29% last year, but fell to 5% in 2018.

Korn Ferry analyzed data from 65 North American retailers, with median annual sales of approximately $5.2 billion.