How To Check The Best Time Of Day to Shop at Florida’s Grocery Stores

Even though it's been around for quite a while, lately more Tampa shoppers hoping to avoid crowds have been taking advantage a feature on Google Maps.  While most use Google Maps to get directions or calculate driving time, the site can actually help keep you healthy as the coronavirus spreads.

Crowded aisles pose a bigger risk of catching the virus.  Google Maps will let you look up when Tampa area stores are busiest.  For instance, I was at Mazzaro's in St. Pete for lunch on Tuesday.  When we arrived at noon, social distancing was not happening.  The market was packed and while you had plenty of room to yourself in the wine and cheese room, the deli area and cash register sections were both packed.  Employees tried to make the situation better by having customers waiting for a deli order wait out in the patio area where normally you can sit and enjoy a sandwich.

One look at the Google Maps timeline for Mazzaro's shows that the noon hour is the worst time to visit if you want the store aisles to yourself. Instead the last hour of the day they're open from 5 to 6pm is your best bet. That last hour the graph shows that the difference is big - about 15-20% of the crowd size you'll see during the lunch hour rush.

What about Publix? The OPPOSITE seems to be the case. The Publix store on Nebraska in Tampa actually gets busier as the day goes along. Unlike Mazzaros, the busiest hours for them are the last three they're open. 6pm-7pm is the busiest time of the day today with a small drop from 7 to 8pm. The first few hours they're open is the time to hit Publix. Crowds are about half of what you'll encounter in the last few hours, according to Google Maps.

Google Maps even has a "live" feature to let you know how many are in your favorite store at this very moment.  How do they know in real time how many are in a store? Is someone actually counting the customers?  No... you have that handy little cell phone in your hands or purse.  Your location is constantly being tracked by apps you have installed on your phone.  And the same goes for everyone else out and about doing their shopping.

You can also research which DAYS are best to shop.  For example, shopping at Trader Joe's in Tampa is best done on Wednesday.  But stay away on Sundays when the number of shoppers nearly doubles, according to Google. Trader Joe's has taken extra precautions by having customers wait in line outside if the store is at capacity. The line moves quickly, but keeps aisles less cluttered so your shopping time is cut.

While it's a little scary how much our movements are tracked by our gadgets, some good does come out of it.  You've got do shop for the essentials so this is a good tool to use when planning out which days and which time of day to brave the crowds looking for toilet paper.