Retailers are shielding shoppers from price hikes caused by the weakened Australian dollar, choosing to not pass on the increased cost of some imported goods. 
The latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show the price of all imported goods increased 3.5 per cent from the start of 2015 to   September. 
But some products have increased more rapidly, mirroring the dollar's 19.5 per cent slide during the 12 months to   September.
The price of clothing coming into Australian docks increased 18 per cent and footwear was up 20 per cent during that period, according to the bureau's international trade price indexes.
But this price jump has not been passed on to shoppers, with the ABS consumer price index showing the retail price of footwear and clothes instead falling about 1 per cent.
Kevin Moore, chairman of retail marketing company Crossmark, said during the past three years increased competition had corrected Australian retailers' world-high retail margins, and this had negated the impact of the falling dollar on consumer prices.
"Australia used to be renowned as one of the top 10 retail value markets and in the top three profit markets around the world," Mr Moore said. 
"Now, the margins have been normalised."
Mr Moore said retailers' margins were being crunched but that was because of increased competition, driven by international fashion entrants like Zara and Uniqlo as well as shoppers comparing prices online. 
"The Aussie dollar has had next to no effect [on margins]; it hasn't helped anyone but they've just had to work with," he said. 
"The best thing that ever happened was that the transparency of the internet made people look at pricing in the eye, and the second thing is that new entrants into the marketplace made a significant difference."
Commonwealth Bank national manager of retail industry Jerry Macey said the bank recently surveyed more than 500 retailers as part of its first Retail Insights report, released on Monday.
Seventy per cent of those retailers said their costs had increased because of the weak Australian dollar, and fewer than half had passed on the extra cost to customers. 
"What we did notice was that small companies were more likely to be impacted by suppliers charging them more, and were more likely to pass it through to their customers," Mr Macey said.
Two-thirds of retailers surveyed told the bank that the weakening Aussie had either improved or not changed their ability to compete with overseas retailers. 
Mr Macey said few Australian retailers were capitalising on the weakened Australian dollar by selling more to overseas customers.
Only 21 per cent of the retailers interviewed were generating sales from overseas, he said.
Commsec chief economist Craig James said it was not clear if Australian retailers that had not passed on higher costs were absorbing them for good or had only delayed a price hike.
"More than likely it's just been postponed," he said.