So you probably noticed the city felt emptier during Burning Man (August 25 – September 1), but is there any data to prove that? Well yes, there is…
Fortune magazine got some data from Square, a transaction processor, showing the growth or decline in commerce in San Francisco neighborhoods during the period that Burning Man was taking place. While the festival funnels a lot of money into the local economy where “the playa” is located near Reno, NV ($55 million last year), it can have the opposite effect in areas where attendees come from.
As you can see from the map, commerce declined in the southern portions of the city.
“Data from Square, the mobile credit card processing company, suggests merchants in the South of Market neighborhood saw as much as a 20% drop in business the week of Burning Man compared to a typical week.”
That’s where a lot of tech workers typically spend, and a lot of them make a mass exodus to Burning Man. When they leave town, so does their $$.
But look at the Richmond District! Our overall commerce was up nearly 20% which means a lot of us were not at Burning Man. As the article points out, “commerce was up sharply in the Richmond, a neighborhood popular with families, perhaps due to increased shopping during a the Labor Day weekend.”
Thanks to Anthony for the tip.
Sarah B.
Have never been prouder.
Burning man: one big snooze. They’re welcome to it.
We were the city Champions for this round. Yeah, yeah.
Yay Richmond!
The data is nonsense. Most of my friends & acquaintances are tech workers, single, & live in those areas. And because it’s Labor Day weekend, they all take a long holiday somewhere or go home, They’re not at Burning Man. And the few people I know that do go to Burning Man every year, live in the Richmond & are blue collar workers. You can’t gauge something like that during a holiday.
Also, there is a higher percentage of Square-using business activity south of market than in the Richmond District. So to me that is the biggest flaw. But interesting none the lass.
That is the most ridiculous non-conclusion. The reason sales drop in soma and those other districts is because they have heavy work place concentrations – lots if workers. The week before Labor Day is a huge week for everyone to go on vacation. There were just fewer workers there buying lunches and after work food and drinks and such. It has little to do with burning man.
I think J has got it right… along with a very small sampling population in the outer ‘hoods. There just aren’t that many businesses using Square in the outer sunset and richmond so one or two businesses making an unusually large transaction over the week can skew the results for the entire district.
And another thing… though I haven’t gone in 14 years, I know plenty of richmond and sunset residents who do go to Burning Man every year. There’s nothing wrong with them, they’re normal people who you rub shoulders with on Clement St and Geary Blvd. Why does the mention of Burning Man always elicit these xenophobic snarky responses? There’s such an element of meanness to some peoples’ fear of the unusual.
I’ve been three years in a row, and love BM, although I haven’t been in a few. And I have been i n the Richmond for 13 ys.
Yup, sounds accurate. Two of my most idiotic neighbors went, which says a lot.
Protip: mohawks and beer guts don’t match well.