Yelp's data science editor Carl Bialik called the latest numbers "encouraging," adding that the first quarter of 2019 is looking like "something of a comeback" for business overall.
"It's a good sign for the economy and for all the millions of businesses big and small," he said. "It shows that, on balance, more businesses are opening and closing relative to previous quarters. On balance, consumers are showing more interest in these businesses."
Grocery stores declined by 2.4 points, according to Yelp's data. And Bialik said there's probably a good reason that the business is in for a "struggle."
"The groceries category is facing more competition all the time, from meal prep companies to the growing number of options for grocery delivery services," Bialik said.
Nowadays, not all shoppers have to get out of the house, head over to the store, and pick out produce themselves.
"People have more options to just choose all those things at home and trust a service to pick the food out for them," Bialik said.
Salad shops saw a big boost in the first quarter of 2019, jumping 6.1 points.
"There are trends towards healthier eating, greener eating, that would lead to strength in salad," Bialik said. "More people are looking for salad places, and there are more salad places opening."
The engine of the auto business appears to be sputtering. Bialik pointed out that auto shops have been "struggling overall in the two-plus years."
Overall, automotive services declined by 2.1 points in this quarter, with gas stations dropping by 3.6 points and auto repair outfits dropping by 1.1 points.
Marie Kondo may have had a hand in this particular trend. Bialik noted that the junk removal and hauling category jumped 7.2 points.
Bialik said that some of those customers are likely "clearing out their homes of things they don't need anymore."
"We don't know if that's driven by Marie Kondo or if it more shows that Marie Kondo is onto something here," Bialik said. "We've seen that trend for many quarters, which includes a period for when her book was out, before the Netflix show launched."
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