Every year on Black Friday, customers all over the world flock to their favorite stores to take part in the discounted prices and great offers. But if you, like myself, aren’t exactly hyped about waiting in line for hours and fighting for the best deals and instead prefer doing your shopping in peace and quiet, Google Maps’ live updates might come in handy for you. 
With Google Maps you can check which hours during the day are normally the busiest for the store or restaurant you’re planning to visit, based on data collected over the past few weeks. Of course, on a day like Black Friday, there might be a lot more store visits than on a normal Friday, so the average popularity might not be of much use on this day. Fortunately for the Black Friday shoppers, Google Maps has added another function to their Popular Times feature, which allows you to see - in real time - whether the place you want to visit is busy right now. This way, you can decide if this is the right time to visit the place, or if a taking coffee break or running another errand first might be a better idea. For the live visits data, Google uses anonymized data from users who have allowed Google to record their Location History, and the Popular Times feature becomes available once the business gets enough visits from this type of users.
Another advantage of using Google Maps on a day like Black Friday is that you can get real time traffic updates in busy roads, giving you the opportunity to schedule your day. Black Friday doesn’t only mean busy stores; it also means heavy traffic, but also here can Google Maps assist you. Google Maps can recognize traffic jams as well as it can pinpoint accidents and offer you alternative routes in case of heavy traffic on the primary route. Like this, you can comfortably plan your way around the worst Black Friday crowds and ensure that an otherwise stressful day will run smoothly. Take your time, enjoy your day, and let everyone else stress instead of yourself.
Whether you’re planning on waiting in line for hours, or if you’re more interested in avoiding the crowds, we wish you luck with your Black Friday shopping, and hope that you’ll consider using these Google Maps features for a, hopefully, less stressful experience.
If you liked this blog, you'll probably also enjoy our blog 'Discover New Places with Google Maps’ Local Guides' or 'Find the Most Loved Restaurants with Google Maps'.
November 26, 2019
