Cell phone data that track users' whereabouts show that fewer Americans are patronizing local businesses and chain stores as COVID-19 cases surge in states like Arizona, California and Florida — a worrying sign that may dash hopes for a swift economic rebound after consumer spending dropped sharply at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. .

The phone data show millions of American consumers basically voting with their feet.

That's according to SafeGraph, which married anonymized cell phone data with its database of business listings and points of interest.

SafeGraph measured the number of visits to millions of retail chains and mom-and-pop businesses from March through June and compared them to the number of visits during a baseline week in mid-January before the pandemic had taken hold in the U.S.

On June 28, restaurants, stores and other establishments saw a 20% decrease in visitors compared to January.

Case numbers in Florida rose most sharply between June 22 and June 27, when they hit 9,019 new cases in one day, compared to 3,200 new cases on June 22, according to Johns Hopkins University's coronavirus case tracker. .

Bars in Florida saw a 5% percent drop in foot traffic over the same period, according to the SafeGraph data.

A separate set of credit card transaction data also show that residents in states with newly rising coronavirus case counts are making fewer visits to restaurants, stores and other places where people typically spend money.

A report from Facteus, which collects anonymized data from financial companies and card issuers, shows that year-over-year growth in overall spending started decelerating on June 25 in the U.S..

Retail spending growth dropped 14 percentage points between June 21 and June 28, marking the biggest negative change in week-to-week growth during the recovery so far.

"Obviously, they were not spending it on entertainment and travel, so they were using it in the retail space," Shaw added

Market data provided by ICE Data Services