What time of day is the best to go shopping? When is it least crowded?

Early morning, especially on a Sunday isn't too bad. Usually no one is there and if you can hurry you can get out before people come in. Also, later at night and I mean well after dinner time there are really no people. I know they are inconvenient times, but I go at one or the other mainly because I hate the crowds and the traffic.

 

I like to shop at stores in the morning after I drop my kids off at school. It seems to be the least crowded and a much more relaxing shopping experience for me. I don't have to hurry through the isles because there are too many people wanting through or worry about running into someone trying to go to another aisle. It is just calmer and more peaceful which is great since I do not like grocery shopping anyway.

 

We used to go in the evening, mostly Friday evenings after week, but the problem with that of course is that you'll almost certainly find a few empty shelves or low quality fruit and veg. It always worked out best early on Saturday morning before the crowds descended upon the store, but who wants to get up at the crack of dawn at the weekend LOL?! Now i've resigned myself to going on Saturday mornings, at a reasonable time.

 

The best time of the day to shop is in the mid-morning. Most people are on their desks busy at work. Most people do not have pressing needs at this hour since they haven't exhausted their supplies from the previous day. Shopping psychology usually has not caught on since workload hassles and sales pitches are at the peak. However, this doesn't apply during the weekends.

 

I love going right when I get up on Sunday morning. A lot of people are either still in bed or at church. I can get in and out of there in under a half hour if I know exactly what I want. I don't even like to shop throughout the week anymore after experiencing Sunday morning shopping.

 

Early morning after I drop my daughter at school which is about 8:30 am. To me this is the best time to shop. There are not any long lines and not a lot of people with their baskets all in the way. LOL The downside about this early is that the workers are putting items on the shelves. Sometimes they are everywhere in the store. The good thing about that is I can ask questions if I can't find something, or ask them to check a price for me.

 

It depends on the country, if you start to think about it. When I'm in Greece I like to go shopping in the morning since people are usually working then and it's not as crowded. If you go at night or in the evening it's usually pretty packed so that's why I prefer the early mornings. In Scandinavia you should go after 6 pm because people usually have done their shoppings already because of the working hours. If I need to get something in the morning I usually go at 9 am or after 1 pm. Never when the clock strucks 4 pm, that's when the gates of hell open up, haha!

 

I guess I'm lucky that I shop at a lot of 24/7 stores. Around 3/4am there seems to never really be anyone in the stores, and they've done a lot of markdowns throughout the night that you'll get the chance to see before all of the morning shoppers come in. It can be harder to get help, and the cashiers don't seem as thrilled when you walk up with a cart full, but they get over it.

 

I think the best time is in the middle of the night, around 1-2am, although it's not often I get to go to the store at that time now. Usually I go around 1pm and find it isn't too bad. I find the mornings seem to be busier here than the afternoons are, but by around 3-4pm the shops are crowded with school kids waiting for their buses and trains, and parents with their children getting things as well.

 

I love going in the early mornings around 9 AM. It's so quiet and there's barely anyone around. It doesn't bother me too much if it's crowded at other times, but it's really relaxing to be able to shop without worrying if you'll be in someone's way.

 

If you're like me and you frequent a lot of 24/7 stores (and live in a safe part of town), there's nothing like shopping (and going to the gym) in the wee hours. Otherwise, I go in the evenings when everything is winding down. I'm not a huge morning person, but I will go shopping during Sunday mornings when everyone's at church).

 

Stranger still to us here in South Africa. You will never find a shop here still open as late as 12 o'clock midnight By that time all of us are fast asleep!

 

As someone who shops quite a bit, and someone who has worked in retail before, I'd say that both early morning and mid morning are pretty good times to shop. I find that those are the times of the day where there are usually a lot less shoppers. As the day goes on, things get busier. So I'd suggest going around 10 a.m. or so if you want to encountered the least amount of crowds at most retail stores.

 

Fortunately it is not my duty to do the shopping, my wife is the expert. But if I should choose, I'd prefer early in the morning when I'm still full of energy and the sun is not too hot yet. Also most people will either be at work, or still lying in bed deciding whether to get up or not.

 

It depends on the day, first I would strongly suggest that you would conduce your shopping on a week-day, which is not Friday, so you won't encounter a big mass of people who are doing their weekly shopping now that they're free. Also, when it comes about hours, try to go when people are usually home sleeping or doing other things, somewhere in the afternoon around 4-5PM.

 

I'm over in Canada, but when I visit the US I love how many 24 hour stores they have there. In some instances, I've done shopping sometime between 11pm -> 3am. Truthfully though, I'm more of a nocturnal person and I enjoy how relaxing it is during the night or simply when it's not crowded. Up north though, I usually have to go between 7-10 or so as most things close around then.

 

Very few Walmarts in the nine states that I've lived in are not 24-hours operations. I am a night owl and used to love to go at night to avoid the crowds. However, now, I prefer to go on weekdays between the hours of 7AM and 8AM. I'll explain why.... during the over night hours, some services are not available, like deli and the money center. However, they are available early, usually starting around 7 AM. Even better is that on weekdays, during those times, the best and most knowledgeable employees are working and they can help you. A lot of the weekend and overnight people are newer and definitely aren't department heads or long term employees in most cases. Therefore, they aren't as helpful because they usually have less experience. Obviously, there are always exceptions to that rule, but I find that to be the case in 90% of Wal-marts.

 

I go right when it opens and here they are hit and miss when they are open 24/7 so usually its around 9.30 or 10 AM. No one is ever there at that time and it only takes me 30-45 minutes max to get what I need and get out. Not only is it nice to not have to fight through the crowds but the people that work there leave me alone and aren't constantly interrupting me asking me if I need help which I really don't enjoy at all. I do all my shopping as early as possible, and the workers there are generally trying to get things set up for the day so I don't get bothered like you normally would at peak shopping hours.

 

I usually shop at Wal-Mart on Monday or Wednesday mornings, there isn't much of a crowd since most people are at work and kids/teens are in school. Things are not so hectic between 9 and 11 am. I've tried shopping at midnight or even 1 am, but in my local wal mart, it's always busy at that time! The worst part is that there aren't many available cashiers or they'll say they're not taking any more customers just when you're about to get in their lane so you have to go find someone else. Thus I prefer the morning to do my shopping.