When is the grocery store least crowded

Still, adhering to social distancing in a crowded grocery store can be challenging and, in some instances, completely out of your control.

Well, you can plan your grocery excursion strategically and time it to get your shopping done outside of peak hours. To help with this endeavor, Google recently put some of its mapping data to good use and revealed the times when grocery store crowds are at their lowest and highest.

Google notes that it only analyzed data from March through October to focus on shopping habits during the pandemic. All told, Google found that the worst time to go grocery shopping is between 12 and 3 PM on Saturday afternoon. This time typically has the biggest crowds and increases the likelihood you might bump into someone with a positive coronavirus diagnosis. Alexi Rosenfeld Getty Images. Related Story.

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Advertisement - Continue Reading Below. Taub-Dix has a genius hack for never forgetting an item and avoiding buying duplicates of what you already have at home: "Take a picture of your pantry before you go to the store," she said.

Another strategy she likes is to map out the aisles of her regular grocery store and make a list aisle by aisle in order to shop more efficiently. Taub-Dix said it's always a great idea to check supermarket circulars for ways to save. Another idea is to buy items that are on sale in bulk.

This works great for canned and frozen foods which will keep for a long time. Taub-Dix said that if you plan to buy in bulk at big box stores, just make sure you have a use for what you're purchasing. Food labels can be difficult to decipher, and most people don't have the time or desire to stand in the store decoding labels. If you have high blood pressure, check the sodium. If you have diabetes, pay attention to the sugar on the label.

In addition to wearing your mask to the store and disinfecting your shopping cart with provided wipes, be sure to take advantage of special shopping hours if that applies to you. And with the number of coronavirus cases rising around the country , it means reducing your risk of getting sick, too. If you do have to grocery shop during a popular time, the CDC recommends making sure you're disinfecting the cart, following floor markings, not touching items you aren't going to buy, using hand sanitizer, and, of course, wearing a mask at all times.

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