It’s no secret that Google collects a lot of data. With so many users using Google Maps to find their way pretty much everywhere, it’s pretty easy for the tech company to figure out where people are going and when.

In order to help us navigate the holiday season and practice social distancing while doing it, Google has released some very useful information. They have analyzed Google Maps data and discovered certain trends during the pandemic. They have specifically looked at data from March 2020 through October 2020 because our behavior this year is definitely different than in previous years. 

The data Google analyzed tells us how people are spending they’re time and what they’re doing when. The huge benefit from this data is that we can use it to avoid crowds when holiday shopping, getting our caffeine fix or visiting a restaurant.

If you don’t want to wait in line outside the grocery store to buy your holiday ham or Thanksgiving turkey, we now know when you should visit. Grocery stores tend to be the busiest on Saturdays from 12pm to 3pm, and they tend to be the least crowded on Mondays at 8am. It might be worth waking up early and going shopping before work or school to beat the crowds.

 

Obviously, this data can change from week to week and from store to store, but Google Maps can help you out with more specific data. If you are in the Google Maps app, you can see the trends at your local store and see live data about how crowded the current location is right now.

For example, we looked up our local grocery store and found that it’s not very crowded on weekday mornings but tends to get busier after 3pm. Our favorite grocery store also tends to be the busiest on Fridays between 3pm and 6pm; although, it is pretty busy on Saturdays as well.

 

If you are taking advantage of holiday sales for gifts, you can use this data to avoid long lines as well. Go to the app and try it. You might find that you never go shopping again without checking to see how crowded the store is before you get there. Especially during a pandemic, this is very helpful data to make social distancing as easy as possible.

What time do you usually go grocery shopping? Are you going to use Google Maps data to avoid crowds when shopping this holiday season?