Yelp: US Areas With More Vaccinated People Saw More Consumer Interest on Its Platform

Business reopenings reached their highest levels in the past year as pandemic restrictions continued to ease, according to the Yelp Economic Average report for the second quarter of 2021. Yelp said its research revealed a “significant correlation” between consumer interest on its platform and the increase of fully vaccinated populations across states and counties, adding that increases in vaccinated people in a specific geographic location in April correlated to consumer interest on Yelp in those areas in May and June. According to Yelp, 60,502 businesses reopened in the U.S. during the second quarter, the highest volume in the past year, and 38,725 of those reopenings took place in April alone, making it the largest month in terms of volume since May 2020. Restaurant and food businesses led the way during the quarter, with 22,441 reopenings, followed by retail at 13,700. Yelp said there were 150,940 new business openings on its platform in the second quarter, up 8% from the pre-pandemic second quarter of 2019 ad up slightly from 146,160 in the first quarter of this year. Key categories included: Home services represented 51,445 of new businesses opened during the period, up 48% from the second quarter of 2019.Restaurants and food businesses accounted for 19,968 of new businesses opened during the second quarter of 2021, the highest total in the past five years.There were 16,047 local services openings, up 30%.Professional services business openings were up 21% from the pre-pandemic second quarter of 2019, at 13,907. By state, Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts were among the 10 states with the highest increases in percentage of vaccinated people in April, and they all had average increases in monthly consumer interest of 25% or higher in May and June. Conversely, 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. Yelp said the majority of states with increased vaccinations and increased levels of consumer interest on its platform voted Democrat in the 2020 election, with 94% of Democratic states seeing increases of 15% or more in vaccinated people and 19% or greater in average monthly consumer interest. By region, the South accounted for the largest share of less vaccinated populations and generally lower increases in average monthly consumer interest levels on Yelp, while the Northeast saw the largest share of more vaccinated people and higher average monthly consumer interest. Yelp vice president of data science Justin Norman said in a statement, “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. 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. Increasing the number of vaccinated people will further aid the recovery.”

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Yelp: US Areas With More Vaccinated People Saw More Consumer Interest on Its Platform

60,502 businesses reopened during the second quarter, while 150,940 new ones set up shop

David Cohen

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