US cities like Atlanta, Dallas and Detroit saw more new business openings, despite Delta and Omicron variants, a Yelp report found.
American new business openings increased 14% between March 2020 and January 2021, marked as year one of the pandemic, to 521,926, compared to 457,236 in 2020. When compared to the pre-pandemic levels, the number of new businesses opening in 2021 were just down by 1%.
While new businesses opened worldwide, the Delta and Omicron variations resulted in fewer new enterprises being opened in nearly all metropolitan areas. During Delta and Omicron waves, the highest decreases in business openings were seen in Boston, Los Angeles, New York City, and Seattle.
Additionally, compared to pre-pandemic searches, the number of Yelp users looking for businesses with outdoor seating grew 292% in 2021. With searches like pickleball, coffee shops and more, consumers’ outdoor interests grew above the pre-pandemic levels. Yelp’s study also revealed that over 12,000 businesses on Yelp have enabled contactless payments for consumer’s convenience.
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