The Best Times to Get Your Holiday Shopping Done Safely This Year

The huge crowds during the holiday shopping season are always a pain, but this year it’s even more important to avoid them as we try to maintain social distancing. Luckily, a little strategic scheduling can help you get everything on your list without any added stress.

The marketing experts at Zenreach shared their data on the busiest and slowest times of the day for shoppers in 2020. Throughout the week, the biggest crowds are usually seen between noon and 2pm and then again between 5pm and 7 pm — so steer clear of those times as much as you can.

When it comes to weekend shopping, Friday foot traffic peaks again between 5pm and 7pm. Unsurprisingly, Saturday is the biggest day for folks to head to the stores with a super-wide window of 1pm to 8pm seeing heavy crowds.

Sundays, however, might be your best bet overall with a smaller window between noon and 4pm showing high amounts of people hitting the aisles. Plus, the data suggests getting to the shops before 11am on a Sunday is the least busy time of the whole week for most stores.

But for those who need to get holiday shopping done during the week, getting an early start on Tuesday or Wednesday (before 10am) should do the trick. That, or waiting until after 9pm on those days.

Of course, you can avoid the issue entirely by doing all of your holiday shopping online (and we can help you find some pretty great deals), but sometimes you just need to go in-person to grab the perfect item. Or maybe you’re hoping to support smaller businesses that need some extra help this year, but don’t offer any online products.

Whatever the case, picking the perfect time will help you stay safe and sane this holiday season.