Timely Business Dynamics Using Google Places

We introduce a new real-time method to measure business opening and closure rates by relying on Google Places, the data behind the Google Maps platform. We collect data on establishments of customer-facing industries (food, retail, accommodation) and provide evidence that the opening and closure rates reflect well the temporary closures and reopening during the pandemic. We find that the operational or closed status of establishments is correlated with business reviews: fewer reviews are associated with impending business exit, and more reviews are associated with expanding businesses posting new job vacancies.