Main Street Monday – Over 65% of U.S. States had an Increased Volume of Business Openings Compared to Pre-COVID-19

July 26, 2021

Delaney Sexton
Contributing Editor

Main Street Monday – Over 65% of U.S. States had an Increased Volume of Business Openings Compared to Pre-COVID-19

In Yelp’s Q2 Economic Average Report, it reports “an increase in consumers getting back to pre-pandemic activities – such as dining out, in-person shopping and returning to their offices.” Consumer demand is continuing to increase, and new small businesses are opening at rapid rates.

Here are the key statistics from the report:
• Consumer demand is on the rise across the United States, but Maine, Montana, South Dakota, and Alaska have seen a huge spike in consumer interest at rates of 78.4%, 74.6%, 74.2%, and 62.9% respectively.
• Counties with larger increases in vaccinations were more likely to see higher consumer demand.
• In Q2, 60,502 businesses reopened according to Yelp. April alone saw 38,725 businesses reopen, the largest monthly volume of reopenings since May 2020.
• Restaurant businesses and retail businesses had the highest number of reopenings in Q2. 22,441 restaurant/food businesses reopened, and 13,700 retails stores reopened.
• New business applications from June 2020 to May 2021 increased at the greatest pace on record since 2004.
• 150,940 new businesses opened on Yelp and surpassed pre-pandemic levels by 8%.
• Home services are continuing to see high demand and accounted for 51,445 of the new businesses opened. This is a 48% increase from pre-pandemic levels.
• Lawn service businesses saw a 189% increase in business openings, home cleaning increased 139%, drywall installation/repair was up 119%, and painting businesses were up 96%.
• There were 19,968 new restaurants opened in Q2. Food delivery services continue to thrive at a 166% increase in delivery service openings.
• Nine out of ten states with the largest increase in new businesses were in the southern United States.
• Over 65% of all states saw an increased volume of new businesses opening when compared to pre-pandemic levels.

“Overall Yelp data reflects positive momentum in the economic recovery as new businesses open and many established businesses reopen.”

Read the full report here.