Small Business Spending Lags in Office-Centric Neighborhoods Worldwide
The pandemic hit small businesses hard. As they recover, retailers in residential neighborhoods are faring far better than those in central business districts, a new study finds.
A Bobby Van's Steakhouse restaurant temporarily closed in Midtown Manhattan in April 2021. Small and medium-sized businesses in work-centric neighborhoods continue to struggle even as business rebounds in more residential areas.
Photographer: Amir Hamja/BloombergEighteen months after the start of the pandemic, global business recovery has been uneven, with location playing an outsize role in a storefront’s financial success, according to a new report.
Businesses in residential neighborhoods are faring much better this year, while stores in central business districts — which bustled before the pandemic with workers and, in some places, tourists — struggle to recover, according to the Mastercard Economics Institute’s analysis of businesses that accept credit cards across 28 metropolitan areas in 19 countries.