WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The millions of bits of cellphone data tracked by analytics firm Unacast show the economic impact of the coronavirus spreading across the United States like a deep freeze – long-distance travel was hit early on, but eventually overall retail foot traffic slowed to a crawl, too.
FILE PHOTO: Empty retail stores are seen in the Manhattan borough, following the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19), in New York City, U.S. March 15, 2020. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/File Photo
As the United States started shutting down to fight the coronavirus outbreak, Unacast data shows, one thing became clear: White House messaging matters.
When President Donald Trump declared a national emergency on March 13, there was an initial rush to grocery stores. Then visits to retail outlets overall collapsed by half in the following days, as even Americans who questioned the severity of the crisis appeared to accept it.
Since then, retail visits have remained deeply depressed according to a…
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