Every state has started to reopen, but smartphone data suggests people are still reluctant to go out

Irene Jiang / Business Insider

• All 50 states have started to reopen following COVID-19 shutdowns, with most restrictions on stores and restaurants being gradually lifted.
• But phone location data shows that people across the US are moving around less than usual, a sign that consumers might still be wary about shopping amid the pandemic.
• Even in major cities where car traffic has returned to normal, people are walking and taking public transit far less than usual, according to aggregate mobility data provided by Apple.

All 50 states have started to reopen following COVID-19 shutdowns — but that doesn't mean consumers are going back to business as usual.

Location data gathered from Americans' smartphones suggests that, even in states that have been reopened for weeks, people are not leaving home and moving around as much as they were pre-COVID.

According to data from Apple, which compiles mobility trends using anonymized GPS data from people's iPhones, mobility is still below the typical baseline in most states. Even in states where driving traffic has returned to normal, the number of people walking around and using public transit remains low.

There are several plausible reasons that mobility remains low even as states reopen. Above all, the pandemic is far from over in the US, which recorded an all-time high number of new cases Wednesday. And even as states allow businesses to reopen, many offices are still letting employees work remotely.

Here's a breakdown of how people are moving around in the US, according to Apple's data.