Shift Business Index
May 2023
Shift uses transaction data from a representative sample of business in Australia to gain insights into their financial and operational performance.
YoY: 86
YoY: 101
YoY: 112
YoY: 108
Key Takeaways
- May 2023, Sales recovered in May 2023, following a slow April performance. This growth in sales was also matched by increases in supplier and wage spend. Liquidity remained flat over May.
- The Transport industry enjoyed advances in the sales and liquidity indexes over May. Liquidity within the sector grew 10 points (+10.9% MoM, +1.0% YoY), with Sales growing by 9 points (+6.9% MoM, +25.4% YoY)
- The Construction industry saw sales slow over May, down 3 points (-2.6% MoM, +2.0% 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 flat at 65 over May (0 MoM, -23.5% YoY).
- Propelled by consistent strong performances on the sales index, the Transport sector saw the most growth out of all industries measured on the liquidity index over May, up 10 points (+10.9% MoM, +1.0% YoY).
- Conversely, cash reserves in the Hospitality industry continued to deplete, with Liquidity falling again over May, down 5 points (-9.2% MoM, -41.9% YoY).
Key Measures
Sales
The Sales Index tracks changes in sales to measure business performance. Over May, Sales grew by 11 points (+11.6% MoM, 4.94% YoY).
- Retail Trade saw strong growth over May, rallying 13 points after a sluggish April (+16.3% MoM, -2.1% YoY). Similar sales performance was evident in the Hospitality sector, which ended May up 11 points (+10.7% MoM, +11% YoY).
- Sales within the Construction industry retreated over May, falling 3 points (-2.6% MoM, +2.0% 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 increased by 17 points over May (+17.3% MoM, +2.7% YoY). In the Hospitality industry, supplier spend advanced 17 points, to a 5.6% YoY increase. YoY growth in the Retail Trade sector was also significant, up 7.8% since May 2022.
Key Measures - Business Costs
(Wage Spend)
Wage spend tracks business spend on wages and salary payments. The Wage spend index grew by 4 points in May (+3.4% MoM, 11.1% 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).