Austin Businesses Bolster Online Presence Amid Coronavirus

AUSTIN, TX — Austin has the 4th highest increase among the nation's big cities in shifting business operations online in light of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report.

The retail landscape has been altered against a backdrop of coronavirus, prompting an untold number of businesses to shift onto online platforms to offer their goods and services. Analysts at LendingTree found business operators in the capital city are among those most shifting to virtual marketplaces given physical distancing provisions making delivery of goods at brick-and-mortar stores more problematic.

To achieve rankings, LendingTree researchers analyzed data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census Small Business Pulse Survey to estimate the percentage of businesses in the 50 largest U.S. metros that reported an increase in their usage of online platforms.

Analysts found that in Austin, 31.6 percent of businesses have increasingly turned to online platforms toward offering goods and services amid the coronavirus pandemic — the 4th highest among the 50 largest metros — sandwiched between Louisville, Kentucky, and Nashville — according to the report.

The city with the highest increase in online business shift is Denver, with 34.1 percent turning to online platforms. Riverside, California (14.8 percent), Birmingham, Alabama (16.9 percent), and Cincinnati (18 percent) have the lowest rates of businesses increasing their usage of online platforms, according to the report.

Overall, the research found, 1 in 4 businesses are moving more online amid the pandemic.

For more details, view the full Cities Where Businesses Are Moving Online Amid Pandemic report.