What in-store footfall tells us about Black Friday (infographic)

Google has just released stats showing the peak times for US in-store traffic on Black Friday.

The stats use data from 2014, gathered using a mixture of surveys and location data from logged in Google users.

It reveals that the peak period is between 2pm and 4pm for most retailers.

With Black Friday taking off last year in the UK, we should soon be able to see similar data from the UK’s shoppers. Peak times for fights in Tesco over TVs, that sort of thing…

On a more serious note, the stats also show how much data Google can gather about our offline habits.

Much of it uses data which tracks offline visits to stores. You may see this in the UK when looking for restaurants and bars.

The peak time data, as shown below, is taken from logged in Google users carrying their smartphones in their pockets.

So, if you want a table here, head there before six…

This data is gathered from anyone who is logged into their Google account (mainly Gmail users) and who have Location History switched on. More details here.

It can be used in conjunction with paid search ads to track offline conversions from online clicks. Expect to see much more of this data in future…