According to a Yelp report, 60% of businesses that closed down due to the COVID-19 pandemic won’t reopen once government restrictions, lockdowns, and mask requirements end.
As part of Yelp’s Economic Impact Report of August 31, an additional 163,735 businesses have posted closures, increasing from mid-July, but remains slightly less than the 180,000 closures posted at the beginning of the pandemic, according to CNBC.
Out of these 163,735 businesses, a whopping 97,966 have indicated that they won’t reopen. Out of the 26,000 restaurants closed, 16,000 will be permanently shut down.
“The restaurant industry now reflects the highest total business closures, recently surpassing retail,” the report observes. “As of July 10, there have been 26,160 total restaurant closures, an increase of 2,179 since June 15. Of the all closed restaurants in July, 15,770 have permanently closed (60%), accounting for 2,956 more permanent closures, a 23% increase since June 15. Meanwhile, bars and nightlife, an industry 6X smaller than restaurants, have endured an especially high closure rate, with 5,454 total business closures, 2,429 (44%) of which are permanent closures.”
NY Daily News reported that 60% of these businesses–mostly in the restaurant industry–will be closed down permanently due to social distancing requirements as a result of the pandemic.
According to the data, California remains the hardest hit area, with Los Angeles experiencing around 7,500 permanent business closures. New York came behind in second place with around 7,100 closures.
And while the restaurant industry has been hit hard by the shutdowns, pizzerias, cafés, and takeout joints have managed to stay relatively afloat, while brunch joints and diners have faced the brunt of the economic impact.
Areas reliant on tourism, such as Las Vegas, have been hit particularly hard as potential tourists now stay at home instead of making the trip to the Nevada city.
“On a metro level, Las Vegas, NV, is suffering from the highest rate of permanently closed businesses with 861 businesses permanently closed, as the city reacts to a decrease in tourism. Meanwhile, Los Angeles, CA, has the most closures with 11,342 total temporary and permanent business closures,” the Yelp report stated.
The retail industry also suffered tremendously with a significant portion of small stores indicating that they will not be reopening.
“Closure counts are likely an estimate of the businesses most impacted, with many others not counted because they remain open with curtailed hours and staffing, or because they have not yet updated their Yelp business pages to reflect closures,” Yelp’s report said, indicating that the findings could be incomplete thus far.
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