"Bonuses are typically tied to the performance of the retailer, and historically about 50 percent of retailers achieve their business plan for profits and pay executives their normal bonuses," said Craig Rowley, a Korn Ferry senior partner specializing in the retail industry. "The fact that this year only 15 percent of companies met or beat their expected profit plan and paid full bonuses to executives exemplifies the challenges facing the industry." Korn Ferry implied that pay gains will be difficult in the years ahead with minimum wage hikes across U.S. cities impacting margins and many retailers failing to offset lower foot traffic with e-commerce gains.