- Yelp finds a surge of searches for Latino-, Black-, women-, and Asian-owned businesses on its platform
- The analysis suggests support for diverse businesses is driven in part by a desire to reject racism and sexism
- Yelp also finds that these businesses tend to earn better reviews and are more likely to engage with user feedback
Summary by Dirk Langeveld
Consumers are putting increased value on diversity in their support for local businesses, according to a recent analysis by Yelp.
In a comparison of user searches in February 2021 to those of February 2020, Yelp found that searches for Latino-owned businesses surged more than 4,000 percent while searches for Black-owned businesses were up more than 3,000 percent. Searches for women- and Asian-owned businesses increased by a more modest amount, but were still more than double the levels in February 2020.
Yelp suggests that this trend may be driven by people placing greater value on supporting diverse businesses as well as seeking to support these businesses as a rebuttal to racism or sexism. Noting how consumer interest in supporting Asian-owned businesses has increased in the wake of anti-Asian hate crimes, Yelp has partnered with the nonprofit Gold House to make it easier for businesses to identify as Asian-owned on the platform and for visitors to find these businesses.
Yelp’s analysis suggests that businesses with Black, Latino, or women owners have provided resilient during the COVID-19 pandemic, frequently enduring more than one cycle of closing and reopening. These businesses were also more likely to receive higher ratings and reviews, while their owners were more responsive to user feedback.
The full report and its methodology can be seen by following the link.
