Microsoft Copilot for retail and wholesale
Retail and wholesale head offices on Microsoft 365 use Copilot for sales analysis, supplier management and internal communication.
- Share of NZ employees
- 14%about 351,000 people, Feb 2025
- Highest local share
- 32%Woodend, Canterbury
- Highest region
- 17%Auckland, 143,000 employees
Where we start
Retail and wholesale head offices on Microsoft 365 use Copilot for sales analysis, supplier management and internal communication.
Sales and stock analysis
Use Copilot in Excel to find trends, slow sellers and margin changes in your exports.
Supplier communication
Summarise supplier threads and draft follow-ups in Outlook.
Store communication
Turn head-office updates into clear store briefings and Teams posts.
Take care: Check pricing and promotional claims before they go to stores or customers.
Where the jobs are
Retail and wholesale accounts for 14% of paid employees in New Zealand. These are the towns and regions where its share is highest. Towns need at least 400 employees to be ranked.
Towns with the highest share of jobs in retail
| Town | Chart | Share | NZ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodend | 31.5% | 14.3% | |
| Amberley | 29.0% | 14.3% | |
| Ōhakune | 29.0% | 14.3% | |
| Waiuku | 28.8% | 14.3% | |
| Warkworth | 24.0% | 14.3% | |
| Cable Bay | 24.0% | 14.3% | |
| Gore | 23.7% | 14.3% | |
| Geraldine | 23.4% | 14.3% | |
| Whitianga | 23.3% | 14.3% | |
| Pukekohe | 23.0% | 14.3% |
Share of paid employees at business locations in the town. The tick marks the national share.
Source: Stats NZ, Business Demography Statistics, February 2020 and 2025.
By region
| Region | Chart | Share | NZ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auckland | 16.6% | 14.3% | |
| Canterbury | 14.9% | 14.3% | |
| Nelson | 14.8% | 14.3% | |
| Tasman | 14.7% | 14.3% | |
| Manawatū-Whanganui | 14.1% | 14.3% | |
| Northland | 14.0% | 14.3% | |
| Bay of Plenty | 13.6% | 14.3% | |
| Waikato | 13.2% | 14.3% | |
| Otago | 13.2% | 14.3% | |
| Southland | 13.2% | 14.3% | |
| Hawke's Bay | 13.0% | 14.3% | |
| Marlborough | 12.0% | 14.3% | |
| West Coast | 12.0% | 14.3% | |
| Taranaki | 11.6% | 14.3% | |
| Gisborne | 10.5% | 14.3% | |
| Wellington | 10.3% | 14.3% |
Source: Stats NZ, Business Demography Statistics, February 2020 and 2025.
Courses
1Introductory
Microsoft 365 Copilot foundations
Hands-on Copilot across Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel and PowerPoint, using your own everyday tasks.
2Organisation
Copilot rollout and readiness
Plan a Copilot rollout that pays for its licences: permissions hygiene, sensitivity labels, pilot groups, champions and adoption measurement.
3Advanced
Copilot Studio agents and advanced Excel
Build agents in Copilot Studio over your own content and processes, automate the actions with Power Automate, and get more from Copilot in Excel.
Other industries
Questions
Is Microsoft Copilot safe to use in retail?
With the right plan and rules, yes for most tasks. Check pricing and promotional claims before they go to stores or customers.
Can training use our own retail examples?
Yes. We ask for a few real, non-sensitive examples beforehand, or anonymised versions, and build the exercises around them.
Train your retail team
- ScopeHeadcount, sites, Microsoft 365 plan and licences, and the teams you want to start with.
- PlanWe propose a course, a pilot group and a format, and agree the files and meetings to use.
- TrainOn-site or over Teams, in Outlook, Word, Excel and Teams, with your own work.
- In person
- Remote
- Half-day workshop
- Full-day workshop
- Team rollout
Independent training by TheColab. Not affiliated with Microsoft.
Enquire
Tell us about your team. We reply by email with a suggested course and format.