Envestnet | Yodlee is tracking how the current public health crisis and economic climate is impacting several industries in the United States. We are looking at both national and regional implications of the COVID-19 pandemic through broad income and spending trends of Americans.
COVID-19 has affected salons, spas and barber shops particularly hard. Many of these businesses have closed their doors as the pandemic has intensified. An analysis of personal grooming businesses show a drastic fall in spending.
The number of transactions in this segment saw a drop of 25% compared to 2019 during the week ending on March 11. Spending on personal grooming has continued to fall substantially culminating in a precipitous decline of 90% compared to 2019 in the week ending on April 7.
Personal grooming is a fragmented industry, comprised of more than one million small businesses in the United States. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, barbers, hairdressers, and cosmetologists represented 766,000 workers in 2018. These are Americans who cannot do their jobs remotely or while practicing social distancing.
