Google's new update will help you avoid holiday shopping crowds
You may want to check Google before you head out on your next holiday shopping spree.
The company's latest search feature makes it easier to find out how crowded stores are at any given time.
An extension of Google's "popular times" update, which shows how crowded restaurants and coffee shops are based on search trends, the new feature will show a real-time estimate for how busy a particular location is.
Search for a store, restaurant or other location and Google will now provide a new "live" view in the popular times section of the location card. Google’s predictions are based users’ location history, which is broken down by time of day.
While the popular times feature shows estimates based on historical trends, the live view uses real-time data to show how busy a particular location is at that moment.
The update also adds details about how long people tend to stay at any given place to help you anticipate how long the crowds will last.
While it's likely impossible to avoid holiday shopping crowds entirely, Google's predictions should help you feel a bit more prepared going in.
Monday's update is also updating results for businesses' holiday hours to reflect when stores and restaurants have different seasonal hours. It will also add in details for when a department within a particular business -- like a pharmacy within a grocery store -- has different hours than the main business.
All of the latest updates are available now in browser-based Google search results as well as in Google Maps on Android and desktop.
Topics Google
Karissa was Mashable's Senior Tech Reporter, and is based in San Francisco. She covers social media platforms, Silicon Valley, and the many ways technology is changing our lives. Her work has also appeared in Wired, Macworld, Popular Mechanics, and The Wirecutter. In her free time, she enjoys snowboarding and watching too many cat videos on Instagram. Follow her on Twitter @karissabe.
