Now is the best time to go holiday shopping if you hate crowds

Gunnar Rathbun/AP

• The holiday season is the busiest time of the year for stores.
• Black Friday, the weekend before Christmas, and the days right before Christmas are the busiest times. 
• December 13 is the least-crowded day for stores during the holiday season.

For many shoppers, dread sets in at the thought of having to brave the holiday-shopping crowds. 

Black Friday crowds and the before-Christmas rush are top of mind during any mall trip in mid-December. For shoppers looking to avoid crowds, InMarket has data on the most- and least-crowded days in stores. 

InMarket uses Bluetooth beacons to connect with shoppers' smartphones, and because of that they have store traffic data from 50 million consumers from last year's holiday shopping period. For customers looking for a calm in the storm, December 13 seems to be the best day to shop in stores — assuming this year looks anything like last year.

December 13 is smack in the middle of the month. Too late for early shoppers and too early for those who wait until the past minute, the date lands in a happy middle period. Call it the calm before the storm.

The data also shows that conventional wisdom holds true, as Black Friday, the weekend before Christmas, and the day right before Christmas end up being the busiest in stores.

InMarket

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