Shift Business Index
December 2023
Shift Insights uses transaction data from a representative sample of business enterprises in Australia to gain insights into their financial and operational performance.
YoY: 83
YoY: 109
YoY: 119
YoY: 118
Key Takeaways
- Liquidity remained steady over December (-0.0% MoM, -22.9% YoY), while Sales retreated by 3 points (-2.6% MoM, +3.7% YoY).
- Supplier spend fell by 6 points (-5.2% MoM, -7.6% YoY), with Wage spend also declining by 6 points (-4.9% MoM, -0.8% YoY).
- The Transport industry led growth in sales over December, up 2 points (+2.1% MoM, +2.8% YoY). Liquidity within the sector also grew by 2 points (+2.1% MoM, -6.8% YoY).
Liquidity Index
The Liquidity Index is calculated by measuring changes in business liquidity to garner insights into the overall level of business health. The Business Liquidity Index remained consistent in December (-0% MoM, -22.9% YoY).
- The Construction and Transport industries continued to bolster liquidity reserves over December. Construction saw a 6-point increase (+7.8% MoM, -9.8% YoY), and Transport grew liquidity by 2 points (+2.1% MoM, -6.8% YoY).
- Retail Trade also increased liquidity over December, up 1 point (+1.6% MoM, -16.7% YoY).
- Conversely, the Hospitality sector saw a withdrawal on liquidity over the December period. Liquidity within the sector fell by 6 points (-12.8% MoM, -39.7% YoY).
Key Measures
Sales
The Sales Index tracks changes in sales to measure business performance. Over December, sales fell by 3 points (-2.6% MoM, +3.7% YoY).
- Withdrawals on the Sales Index observed in November continued into the December period across major industries.
- The most significant fall was observed in the Professional Services sector, followed by a similar retreat in the manufacturing industry. Professional Services fell by 11 points (-2.8% Mom, +6.9% YoY), with Manufacturing by 9 points (-5.5% MoM, +2.0% YoY).
- Construction saw the most minor Sales decline over December, retreating 1 point (-1.7% MoM, +3.6% YoY).
Key Measures – Business Costs
(Supplier Spend)
Supplier spend tracks business costs and expenditures on goods and services, material and equipment, utilities, fuel and insurance.
Supplier spend decreased by 6 points over December (-5.2% MoM, -7.6% YoY).
Key Measures - Business Costs
(Wage Spend)
Wage spend tracks business spend on wages and salary payments. Wage spend fell by 6 points over December (-4.9% MoM, -0.8% YoY).
About the data
Shift Business Index
The Business Index is baselined to February 2021, using six months of average transactions as the denominator.
The Index is calculated by taking a representative sample of businesses from around Australia varied by size, industry and location and looking at their credit transactions across all account types (e.g. transaction, savings and credit card).