Google Maps ready to help Thanksgiving week

Google has been busy making some improvements and adding new features to Google Maps recently, like the ability to check out special store hours during the holiday season or find cheap gas or a detour. Combining Google Maps with data mined by the search giant’s computers from the last three years, Google is offering up some tips and insights for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

First off, Google suggests that travelers may want to hit the road on Tuesday instead of waiting until Wednesday. It may not be much of an improvement, but Google’s data shows Tuesday is the second worst travel day topped only by Wednesday. That same data suggests return trips should be scheduled for Sunday instead of Saturday. Google does note that Wednesday failed to top the list as worst travel day in Boston, Honolulu, Providence and San Francisco.

Once travelers arrive at their destinations, Google’s search history data shows a couple trends that pop up during the holidays. On Thanksgiving Day itself, Maps users number one search term is “buffet restaurants” although some places like Houston leaned to “doughnut shops.” Another peculiarity that surfaced is the leading search term of “beauty salons” that comes up in Miami on Thanksgiving.

After making it through the big day itself, Americans face what has become another big day – Black Friday. As expected, search terms are dominated by people looking for places like “electronics store” or “outlet mall.” However, it looks like New York residents start thinking about tattoo shops while west coast residents look for hookah bars. Go figure.

Unfortunately, Google has not yet figured out a way to make it easier to squeeze into your clothes after the dust settles.

source: Google

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