A Cry for Help from Yelp

The latest data from Yelp is a real cry for help. As of June 15, 140,000 businesses listed on the Yelp review site remained closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. And of all the business closures since March 1, 41% of them have shuttered permanently, according to Yelp’s latest Local Economic Impact Report. As one would expect, beauty-related establishments are high on the list.

By region, Los Angeles recorded the largest total number of closures with 11,774 business establishments shuttering, but Las Vegas has had the highest number of closures relative to the number of businesses in the city at 1,921. 

“By far, retail shopping was hit the hardest,” Justin Norman, Yelp’s vice president of data science, told the Wall Street Journal. “When you look at those two top categories (retail and restaurants), we’re potentially never going to see some of these businesses again.”

Although 20% of the businesses that were closed in April have reopened as states have started relaxing social distancing guidelines, retailers and restaurants remain especially hard-hit. Shopping and retail stores have suffered 27,663 closures, while 23,981 restaurants listed on Yelp are still closed. According to Yelp's statistics, there were 15,348 beauty closures, think hair and nail salons, with fitness centers also recording more than 5,500 closures. As Yelp noted, It’s difficult for these establishments to incorporate the social distancing measures required to reopen in many places.