Home topics news Generated by AI News News Supermarkets thrive while Butchers, Greengrocers struggle Yajush Gupta May 2, 2024 With the Christmas quarter appearing to be a false dawn, new data released this week by illion credit bureau, as part of its Commercial Risk Barometer, reveals that business conditions have deteriorated significantly in the year to March 2024. Year on year, the failure risk has risen: by more than 5% by the end of March 2024, and near 6.5% since the beginning of 2023 – the largest deterioration noted post-COVID. As a result, the number of businesses at severe risk of failing is now 80% higher than 15 months ago. “There are likely a number of reasons for this”, said Barrett Hasseldine, illion’s Head of Modelling. “It may be due, in part, to lower levels of government support for business and ‘zombie companies’ are now finally toppling over. Equally, it may be due to creditors, lenders, and government offices such as the ATO calling a halt to amnesties on the repayment of liabilities. And a third option is that it is a consequence of significantly lower levels of consumer confidence and spending in 2023, as Australians struggled with their household budgets.” Deterioration in business conditions has followed a similar change to consumer credit risk, consumer spending, and consumer confidence; with worsening business activity showing as a three-to-six-month lag after economic conditions impacted consumer behaviour. This general rise in business failure risk has led to a significant increase in the number