It's hard to over-emphasise the importance of the Australian household to the health of the national economy.

While we celebrate farmers and their fields of wheat, miners and their ships of iron ore or companies like Cochlear and their amazing technologies, the economy really rests on people and their day-to-day spending.

This week's December national accounts, for instance, showed two-fifths of the 0.5 per cent expansion in the economy was due to increased household spending.

Shoppers - the backbone of the Australian economy. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

That's why Friday's January retail sales data, showing a 0.3 per cent drop on top of a 0.7 per cent fall through December, is a canary in the economic coal mine.