Shift Business Index
August 2023
Shift uses transaction data from a representative sample of business in Australia to gain insights into their financial and operational performance.
YoY: 83
YoY: 109
YoY: 117
YoY: 113
Key Takeaways
- Following strong performances in July, the month of August again saw continued rises in the Sales and Liquidity Indexes. Sales advanced by 6 points (+5.56% MoM, +4.59% YoY), and liquidity grew by 1 point (1.43% MoM, -14.46% YoY).
- This rise in both sales and liquidity was prominent within the construction industry, with sales growing 9 points (+9.15 MoM, +0% YoY), and liquidity rising by 2 points (+1.89% MoM, -9% YoY).
- The transport sector also saw gains in August, with sales, up 7 points (+4.7% MoM, + 18.1% YoY). Liquidity within the sector grew by 4 points over August (+3.66% MoM, - 5.7% 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 rose by 1 point in July (1.43% MoM, -14.46% YoY).
- Retail trade continued its growth over August, advancing by 4 points on the Liquidity Index (+6.25% MoM, 1.5% YoY).
- After recording a fall in liquidity over July, the resilient transport industry recovered over August with liquidity lifting by 4 points (+3.66% MoM, -5.7% YoY).
- An increase in cash reserves was also observed within Construction, up 2 points in August (+ 1.89% MoM, -9% YoY).
Key Measures
Sales
The Sales Index tracks changes in sales to measure business performance. Over August, sales advanced by 6 points (+5.56% MoM, +4.59% YoY).
- The construction industry led all sectors in sales growth over August, with sales lifting by 9 points (+9.1% MoM, +0% YoY).
- Within the manufacturing sector, sales were up 7 points (+7.2% MoM, -8.8% YoY).
- Sales for the hospitality industry rose 4 points in August (+3% MoM, -1.6% 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 grew by 4 points over August (+3.6% MoM, -0.9% YoY).
Key Measures - Business Costs
(Wage Spend)
Wage spend tracks business spend on wages and salary payments. Wage spend increased by 2 points over July (+1.7% MoM, + 7.08% 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).