Yelp reports that the surge in consumer interest in May correlates with more Covid outbreaks and closings in June and July.
Consumer interest vs. outbreaks
Business closings fluctuate across the nation
- There were 140,000 total business closings on Yelp from March 1 to June 15. This increased to over 147,000 total business closings on June 29, and then fell again to just over 132,500 total business closings as of July 10.
- In April, there were more than 175,000 business closings, indicating that only 24% of the businesses that closed in April have reopened.
- Even when the total closings fall, permanent closings increase with 72,842 businesses closed permanently, from the total of 132,580 businesses closed, an increase of 15,742 permanent closings since June 15.
- This also means that the the percentage of permanent to temporary business closings is increasing, with permanent closings now accounting for 55% of all businesses closed since March 1, a 14% increase from June when we reported 41% of closings as permanent.
- Overall, permanent closings have steadily increased since the peak of the pandemic with minor peaks in March, followed by May and June.
Total business closings
States with the largest populations have the most closings.
Total business closings per 1,000
At one subway level, Las Vegas, NV suffers the highest rate of businesses closed permanently with 861 businesses closed permanently as the city reacts to a decline in tourism. Meanwhile, Los Angeles, CA has the highest number of closings with 11,342 total temporary and permanent commercial closings.
Restaurant fight
Yelp has many additional graphics.
Curious minds may want to investigate.
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- All continuous unemployment claims exceed 32 million again
- Working from home will reduce driving by 270 billion miles per year
conclusion
Permanent closings will continue to increase. Many small businesses that are already tied up will not survive the reopening reversal.
Don’t confuse the stock market with the real economy.
This is a deflationary event.
For a discussion, see Unprecedented Recession Timing and What It Means.
Mish
