Shift Business Index
JANUARY 2024
Shift Insights uses transaction data from a representative sample of business enterprises in Australia to gain insights into their financial and operational performance.
YoY: 76
YoY: 88
YoY: 97
YoY: 109
Key Takeaways
- January brought in a seasonal retreat on Sales activity on the index. Sales withdrew by 20 points (-2.6% MoM, +3.7% YoY). Liquidity followed suit, retreating 5 points (-7.8% MoM, -22.4% YoY).
- Hospitality saw the strongest performance of our major industries over January, as liquidity grew, and the effects of withdrawing sales were felt less in the sector. Liquidity in Hospitality rose 2 points over January (+4.9% MoM, 33.8% 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 retreated by 5 points in January (-7.8% MoM, -22.4% YoY).
- Hospitality grew liquidity over January, as Retail Trade remained level. Transport and Construction saw the most notable retreats over the holiday period.
- Liquidity in the Hospitality sector grew by 2 points over January (+4.9% MoM, 33.8% YoY), while Retail Trade remained level at 65 (-0.0% MoM, -18.8% YoY).
- Transport retreated by 12 points (-12.5% MoM, -12.5% YoY), and Construction also fell by 12 points (-14.5% MoM, -5.3% YoY).
Key Measures
Sales
The Sales Index tracks changes in sales to measure business performance. Over January, sales fell by 20 points (-2.6% MoM, +3.7% YoY).
- While January saw a significant retreat on the Sales Index, this seasonal behaviour has been observed over the past 2 years as business activity in the core business sectors slows during the holiday period.
- The hospitality sector experienced the smallest decline in sales activity over January, falling only 6 points (-5.5% MoM, -11.9% YoY). On average, other major industries saw a 21% MoM retreat.
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 2 points over January (-1.8% MoM, +11.3% YoY).
Key Measures - Business Costs
(Wage Spend)
Wage spend tracks business spend on wages and salary payments. Wage spend fell by 5 points over January (-4.3% MoM, +2.8% 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 business account types (e.g. transaction, savings and credit card).