If this year had gremlins, those gremlins would be called May and April.
According to National Australia Bank's monthly survey, business conditions saw a sharp, six point fall following March.
So dramatic was the plunge, and in particular conditions in the retail sector, it was concluded this industry was "clearly in recession."
Australian Bureau of Statistics data backed this, showing the economy had slowed to its weakest level since the global financial crisis in 2009.
From a long term lens, business conditions are about 20 points below their early-2018 peak.
So what's going on and when will May and April bugger off?
Consumers are struggling with low wage rises and concerns about job security, fuelled further by a downturn in the housing market and growing competition from online sales.
This translated to retail turnover falling 0.1% over April.
The result followed a fairly soft 0.3% rise in March and was far worse than the consensus forecast of another modest rise.
Clothing, footwear and accessories sales felt the pinch yet again, down 1.2% on a month ago.
But let's be clear here: this is not just an issue facing Australian operators.
In the US, major retailers closed over 5000 stores in 2018 and by sector, apparel retailers led the pack with 766 closures.
Dressbarn, CVS, Pier 1, Gap and other chains announced more store closings in the first half of 2019 than seen during all of 2018, according to Coresight Research.
And the contraction shows no signs of slowing down.
As online shopping continues to grow, another 75,000 stores could close by 2026, says investment bank UBS.
Ok, so enough of Hardcore Gremlins 2019.
What's the answer?
It's simple.
And I'm not going to dress it up with terms marketers love to use like synergy, customer-centricity and matcha latte.
Businesses which are doing well are doing so through investment in technology.
Traditional ragtraders can huff until the seams of their safari suits split apart, but it's the truth.
Zara dominates competitors via a hyper-responsive supply chain which can see trends designed and delivered to stores within four weeks.
Accent Group nearly doubled digital sales in the first half of the year through a flexible fulfilment model.
Wesfarmers, parent company of Target and Kmart Australia, splashed out $230 million on eCommerce platform Catch Group praising "systems and capabilties difficult to replicate."
Birdsnest founder Jane Cay, who opened a little boutique in the country town of Cooma, scaled it into a $25 million empire via a borderless eCommerce strategy.
Rozalia Russian, a one-man-band brand ambassador, recently generated upwards of $300,000 worth of product with a 100% sell through rate from one Instagram post.
No matter how big your business is, if you're not thinking digitally, then you will be left behind.