Regionally, inflation hit the Southwest the
hardest in the past quarter; food businesses and restaurants drove
increases of inflationary experiences nationwide in the past
year
Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP), the company that connects people with
great local businesses, today released third quarter 2022 data for
the Yelp Economic Average (YEA) report, a benchmark of local
economic strength in the U.S. The Q3 2022 YEA report reveals that
inflation experiences have intensified for consumers in every state
in the U.S. year over year, with reviews mentioning inflation up by
22% compared to Q3 2021.
This press release features multimedia. View
the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221018006287/en/
Inflationary experiences on Yelp continue
to increase in Q3 2022. (Graphic: Business Wire)
Yelp found that food businesses are seeing one of the largest
increases of inflationary experiences compared to Q3 2021, followed
by restaurants, then businesses in the categories of beauty and
spas, arts and entertainment, nightlife and bars, and hotels and
travel. In response, consumer searches for budget-friendly dining
and grocery options are higher than Q3 2021.
"While U.S. inflation doesn't appear to be slowing down, Yelp's
data shows consumers are increasingly looking for more affordable
options to counter this uncertainty," said Pria Mudan, data science
leader at Yelp. "We continue to see increasing mentions of
inflation for food businesses and restaurants, aligning with the
recent Consumer Price Index report that found prices for food away
from home was up 8.5% from 2022. It's clear consumers are mindful
of their wallets with Yelp searches related to affordable groceries
and fast food concepts noticeably up from last year."
Consumers increasingly feel the impact of inflation,
especially in the Southwest this past quarter
As the annual inflation rate remains above market forecasts,
only slightly decreasing to 8.2% in September 2022, consumers
continue to show increased signs of inflation fatigue. Every U.S.
state, as well as Washington D.C., saw an increase in inflation
mentions in Yelp reviews compared to Q3 2021.
Regionally, Yelp data shows that the Southwest is experiencing
the highest quarter-over-quarter growth of inflation mentions – up
7% compared to Q2 2022. Meanwhile, the Midwest is experiencing the
highest growth of inflation mentions year over year – up 26%.
Food businesses saw one of the largest increases of
inflationary experiences in the past year, followed by restaurants,
beauty, arts and entertainment, and nightlife
Consumers report experiencing inflation the most at food
businesses and restaurants, with inflation mentions in reviews up
31% and 28%, respectively, year over year. Of all Yelp restaurant
categories that saw an increase in inflationary experiences, a
quarter of them serve Asian cuisine, with a 24% average increase of
inflation mentions from Q3 2021. Additionally, grocery stores and
markets make up four of the top five food businesses with an
increase in inflationary mentions in reviews compared to Q3 2021.
Food businesses primarily selling desserts also saw a 29% average
increase in inflation mentions compared to Q3 2021.
When compared to Q3 2021, the following categories each saw an
increase of inflation mentions in reviews on Yelp:
- Beauty services and spas up by 21%
- Arts and entertainment up by 19%
- Nightlife up by 17%
- Hotel and travel businesses up by 11%, particularly related to
lodging businesses
- On average, retail and event categories related to weddings up
by 29%
As inflation remains high, users are increasingly searching
for budget-friendly dining and grocery options
In Q3 2022, searches for budget dining and grocery options are
up by 11% from the previous quarter and 9% compared to Q3 2021.
Within these searches, Yelp data shows that searches for terms
related to affordable groceries were used 67% more often compared
with Q2 2022 and 126% more compared to Q3 2021. Additionally,
searches related to fast food and fast casual dining are up by 10%
compared with Q2 2022 and 8% more compared to Q3 2021.
Not all states are turning to these budget options equally. Yelp
data shows that the states with the highest increase in searches
related to affordable dining and groceries in the past quarter were
in Washington D.C. (up 27%), Louisiana (up 26%), New York (up 25%),
West Virginia (up 24%), Pennsylvania (up 20%) and Mississippi (up
20%).
Read the full Q3 2022 YEA report, as well as previous YEA
reports, at yelpeconomicaverage.com. Assets and images from the
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
Review Text Mentions of Inflation
We analyzed review text from 2020 through Q3 2022 to observe how
Yelp consumers are referencing inflation in reviews. These
inflation references can include phrases mentioning inflation
itself or higher or rising prices at businesses. The volume of
review text phrases are normalized to the mention frequency per
every million words, and is calculated for each Yelp category and
on a national, regional, and state basis. A minimum threshold of
review mentions was implemented to uncover the most noteworthy
inflation experiences.
Consumer searches for budget dining and groceries
Budget dining and groceries searches refer to queries such as
“fast casual,” “fast food,” “cheap eats,” and “cheap grocery
store,” among others. When analyzing the search behavior, we
measured the appearance of budget dining and groceries related
phrases in every million Yelp searches. We compared the search
behavior period over period to inform how consumer dining
preferences had changed across locations.
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.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221018006287/en/
Yelp Inc. Fernanda Paguaga press@yelp.com
Yelp (NYSE:YELP)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
Yelp (NYSE:YELP)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024