Business reopenings rise across the country,
spiking in the second quarter of 2021
New business openings for home, local and
automotive services increase above pre-pandemic levels
Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP), the company that connects people with
great local businesses, today released second quarter 2021 data for
the Yelp Economic Average (YEA) report, a benchmark of local
economic strength in the U.S. The Q2 2021 YEA report reveals a
significant correlation between consumer interest on Yelp and an
increase of fully vaccinated populations across states and
counties. The report also uncovers business reopenings reaching its
highest level in a year and new business openings surpassing
pre-pandemic levels.
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The Yelp Economic Average shows increases
in consumer interest correlates to an increase in vaccinations.
(Graphic: Business Wire)
YEA analysis shows that the increase in vaccinated people in a
specific geographic location in April correlates to an increase in
consumer interest on Yelp in that area in May and June. Business
reopenings spiked in Q2 2021, with restaurant and food businesses,
as well as retail businesses, driving the largest share of the
total 60,502 businesses reopened. New business openings on Yelp
grew to 150,940, surpassing pre-pandemic levels by 8% (compared to
Q2 2019) and up from 146,160 in Q1 2021.
“With the lifting of pandemic restrictions across the country in
the second quarter, restaurants, food, and nightlife businesses
among others, reflected pent-up demand to return to pre-pandemic
activities,” said Justin Norman, Yelp’s vice president of data
science. “Our analysis highlights an upward trend in the first half
of 2021 in business openings and reopenings across the country. Our
recent finding that an increase in fully vaccinated populations in
certain areas led to a higher increase in consumer interest in
local businesses, is evidence that getting vaccinated is good for
business. We believe that increasing the number of vaccinated
people will further aid the recovery.”
Increased COVID-19 Vaccinations
in April Correlate to an Increase in Consumer Activity in May and
June Across States and Counties, with Clear Trends Across Voting
Lines and Regions
Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, New York, and Massachusetts were
among the 10 states with the highest increases in percentage of
vaccinated people in April and all had average increases in monthly
consumer interest of 25% or higher in May and June. Eight of the 10
states with the lowest increases in percentage of vaccinated people
in April, including Arizona, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi,
had increases in average monthly consumer interest of less than 25%
in May and June.
When examined across voting lines based on the 2020 election,
the data shows a majority of states with increased vaccinations and
increased levels of consumer interest voted Democrat, with 94% of
all Democratic states having a 15% or greater increase in
vaccinated people and 19% or higher increase in average monthly
consumer interest. By region, the south accounts for the largest
share of less vaccinated populations and generally lower increases
in average monthly consumer interest levels, while the northeast
has the largest share of more vaccinated people and higher average
monthly consumer interest.
Of the 300 counties with the highest populations, nine out of 10
counties with the largest increase in vaccinated people in April
saw a 21% or higher increase in average monthly consumer interest
in May and June. Similarly, seven out of 10 counties, with the
lowest percentage changes in vaccinated people, saw a 20% or less
increase in average monthly consumer interest.
Q2 Business Reopenings Reach
Highest Level in a Year as Americans Ease Back Into In-Person
Activities
In Q2 2021, 60,502 businesses reopened, marking the highest
volume of reopenings in the last year. In April alone there were
38,725 reopenings, the largest monthly volume of reopenings since
May 2020. Restaurant and food businesses, as well as retail
businesses, experienced the highest number of businesses that
reopened in Q2 with 22,441 and 13,700 reopenings, respectively.
New Businesses Open Above
Pre-Pandemic Levels in Professional, Home and Local, and Automotive
Services, While Restaurants and Other Categories Inch Closer to a
Full Recovery
In Q2 2021 new business openings on Yelp reached 150,940,
surpassing pre-pandemic levels by 8% (compared to Q2 2019) and up
from 146,160 in Q1 2021.
Home services accounted for 51,445 of new businesses opened in
Q2 2021, a 48% increase compared to pre-pandemic levels (Q2 2019) —
lawn services (3,165 openings, up 189% from Q2 2019), home cleaning
(6,558, up 139%), and drywall installation and repair (1,253, up
119%) saw a surge in new openings.
Local services saw 16,047 new businesses open in Q2 2021, a 30%
increase compared to pre-pandemic levels with nannies (86 openings,
up 91%), carpet cleaning (1,282, up 62%), and junk removal and
hauling services (2,328, up 162%) driving the increase.
Professional and automotive-related services also saw significant
momentum with 13,907 new businesses open in Q2 2021 (21% increase
compared to pre-pandemic levels) and 9,708 new openings (13%
increase), respectively.
Restaurants and food businesses accounted for 19,968 new
businesses opened in Q2 2021, 12% below Q2 2019, which had the
highest new business openings in the last five years. Even as
restaurants reopen, food delivery services (670 openings, up 166%
from Q2 2019) remain well above pre-pandemic levels. Food trucks
(1,767, up 25%), seafood markets (81, up 44%), soul food (176, up
30%), desserts (1,628, up 47%), and food courts (59, up 40%) have
all trended above pre-pandemic levels.
Read the full report, as well as previous YEA reports, at
yelpeconomicaverage.com. Assets and images from the Q2 2021 YEA
report can be found here. For more information and Yelp’s latest
company metrics, visit:
https://www.yelp-press.com/company/fast-facts/default.aspx
Methodology
Consumer Interest Correlations with COVID-19 Vaccinations
COVID-19 Vaccinations: The vaccination period is the percentage
point increase in vaccinations in the specific geographic location
measured between April 1 and April 30, corresponding to the time
where most locations began to open vaccine distribution to the
general public over 18 years old. For example, an increase from 20%
of a location’s total population being vaccinated at the end of
March to 38% of the population being vaccinated at the end of April
would be an increase of 18 percentage points. We used COVID-19
vaccination data provided by the CDC for counties and states. Note:
the CDC did not have April vaccination data available for some
counties in Texas, Hawaii, and California. Those counties were
excluded from the analysis.
Consumer Interest: We measure consumer interest, in terms of
U.S. counts of a few of the many actions people take to connect
with businesses on Yelp: viewing business pages or posting photos
or reviews — split by state and county.
Correlations: Increasing consumer interest in these geographic
locations in May and June – relative to the April change in
percentage of vaccinated people – is a good general indicator of
consumer behavior reverting to the norm and a state or county being
more active economically and socially. Of note, correlation and
causation are not equivalent, and we are not claiming that COVID-19
vaccinations are single-handedly driving consumer interest. Yelp
observes a statistically significant correlation between a state’s
or county’s change in percentage of vaccinated people in April and
consumer interest action share changes in May and June. The
relationship holds out after controlling for other variables,
including case counts, mask usage, and political lean, according to
regressions we ran at the state and county levels.
New Business Openings
Openings are determined by counting new businesses listed on
Yelp, which are added by either business owners or Yelp users.
Openings are adjusted year over two-years (2021 vs 2019), meaning
openings are relative to the same period of time in the period two
years prior for the same category and geographic location. This
adjustment corrects for both seasonality and the baseline level of
Yelp coverage in any given category and geography.
Business Reopenings
On each date, starting with March 1, 2020, we count U.S.
businesses that were temporarily closed and reopened through June
30, 2021. A reopening is of a temporary closure, whether by using
Yelp’s temporary closure feature or by editing hours, excluding
closures due to holidays. Each reopened business is counted at most
once, on the date of its most recent reopening.
Openings and reopenings are based on when they're indicated on
Yelp, as such, the data may lag slightly from the true opening or
reopening date due to a delay in reporting from consumers and
business owners.
About Yelp Inc.
Yelp Inc. (www.yelp.com) connects people with great local
businesses. With unmatched local business information, photos and
review content, Yelp provides a one-stop local platform for
consumers to discover, connect and transact with local businesses
of all sizes by making it easy to request a quote, join a waitlist,
and make a reservation, appointment or purchase. Yelp was founded
in San Francisco in July 2004.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210721005253/en/
Yelp Inc. Nick Spence press@yelp.com
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