Black-Owned Directory Apps Gain Major Surge in Support During Protests

With the renewed interest in Black-owned businesses during protests for racial justice, apps that act as guides for such brands are getting a major boost.

According to CNN, Google searches for Black-owned businesses saw a 300 percent spike in the first two days of June plus searches for Black-owned restaurants tripled.

Due in part to general curiosity about minority-owned businesses, support has also grown because of the influx of resources circulating the internet. Google docs, Twitter threads, and Instagram infographics are now widely shared to identify where to spend your money. Also, apps that are hubs for this type of information are becoming a popular go-to.

However, the co-founder of EatOkra, Anthony Edwards, hopes commitment to buying Black continues beyond the moment.

“We’re hoping that, in retrospect, this moment will have felt like the tipping of the iceberg and not just a trend that quickly came and went,” said Edwards, whose app has seen increased traffic.

Similarly, Black Wallet, a business directory app, has seen a 115 percent uptick in app downloads.

“I believe this moment is a catalyst for Black businesses getting closer to true equality and, just as important, respect within the economy,” said founder Jasmine Grant.

While smaller, independent brands have noticed the surge, so have larger companies like Yelp. Last week, Yelp announced a search tool for Black-owned businesses set to launch on its platform in the coming weeks.

In a blog post, Yelp’s CEO Jeremy Stoppelman disclosed that the platform gained a 25 percent increase in searches for Black-owned businesses.

“This attribute will be opt-in only as the decision to self-identify as Black-owned should rest solely with the business,” Stoppelman wrote. “We’ve been inspired by the outpouring of requests for this feature from users who want to support Black businesses.”

Likewise, UberEats has made it easier to support Black-owned businesses as it will waive delivery fees for orders in the United States and Canada at Black-owned restaurants until the end of the year.