With only 13 days left until Christmas, Google is looking to perform a little holiday magic by making believers out of technology naysayers. How exactly do they plan on going about gobsmacking the holiday joy back into a month that’s otherwise cold and chaotic? By accurately reporting on how crowded your holiday destinations are in real-time.
That’s right, this year, Google took it upon themselves to make things a little easier on the people who save Christmas shopping for December 24th (and if you’re anything like me, that’s early). The problem with such an “early” start to the holiday season? Everyone else has the same great idea, and all your favorite hotspots are likely a few body counts over max capacity.
Last year, Google tried to take care of that problem by introducing a feature to Search and Maps called “Popular Times.” Popular Times did pretty much exactly what it said it would and reported on popular times, or how busy places were at different times of the day and week. But it just wasn’t enough for all those savvy shoppers beating the crowds just one day before the big guy in the red suit came to town. So Google did one better.
They added real-time data to their Popular Times feature. Translation: users know exactly how busy a store is at that exact moment. And it’s not just for the holidays, either. Whether you’re looking to find something cheap for that Secret Santa you never wanted or you’re just looking for a quick place to eat, sans crowd, Popular Times is an equal-opportunist.
It’s also kind of OCD, like that one friend who needs to plan out their entire vacation down to the minute, negating the entire point of a vacation and any enjoyment one might get out of not micromanaging the way the wind blows. What exactly do I mean by this vaguely abstract and yet oddly accurate analogy?
Well, Google also lets users see how long people typically stay at a location, allowing the perfectionist in your family (or you) to “plan your itinerary to the minute.” If all goes accordingly, Google Product Manager Jamie Aspinall will have successfully created something for families to argue over for years to come. According to Aspinall,
“After all, you want to be sure you leave enough time to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate at your local sweets shop before heading to your dinner reservations.”
If no family has ever fought over who wants to go where when and why it’s more important than something else, I’m also a small elf who wants to become a dentist.
And last but not least, Google didn’t forget about all those times you looked up when your favorite eat-out place closed only to get there and, well, have it be closed. Popular Times is cracking down on all the misinformation floating around and getting more accurate when it comes to displaying store, business, and restaurant hours.
For all the department stores inside of malls that close at different times during the holidays or pharmacies inside of other stores that operate on different times, Google is finally showing them some love. Aspinall says it’s to optimize how consumers spend their time (and let’s be real, their money). As the weather people often say, now you can know before you go.
For ZBRELLA Technology Consulting, I’m Christopher Clark, goodnight and good luck.
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