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

Whenever I go to WalMart, I go at night. My family hardly sleeps and we sometimes do an outing to go shopping for supplies that we need for the house. We actually love it at night. I personally think it's the best time to go. The only problem is that there's a 50/50 chance that something you need will be stocked. They are working on it, but nothing is perfect until the next morning when it gets busy again. As of late, we've been pretty lucky to get everything that we need, but sometimes certain items like a specific pet food, deodorant, or even a favorite snack might not be stocked because it's high in demand. This is all determining that your closest WalMart is a 24hr one.

The best time to go is around midnight when there's no one around. There's a few people, but not a lot. Thus, the customer service is phenomenal. Everyone is there for you when you need it. And no one is really hating you for asking a question. Actually, most are chirpy with all the coffee that they drank before their shift. Haha.

 

I'd say at the end of the day when it's settled down and you can look around properly for sales on. There's also a trick you can do by looking at the price tags on items. Most items that are ready to be put on sale will have the last few digits at an odd number like 9.94, etc. This means the product has already been reduced and ready to have a sales tag added to it soon enough.

 

I personally prefer doing my shopping in the late afternoon at about 3 to 4pm where the lunch and after work shopping crowds are not there to congest the shopping area. This is my favourite time to shop because the entire store would be peaceful and quiet and you can get around with your trolley without having to worry about knocking into someone or having to compete with others for something you're looking to buy. The cash registers are usually also empty during this time so there is no need to be stuck in long queues which gets on my nerves! Another time to do all your shopping would be late into the night, I would say after 10pm, where prices of certain items would be reduced and the crowd is definitely thin. I guess it all depends on which timing you find more convenient!

 

I shop in the evening too - most people are at home then and you have the added bonus of items being reduced in price! If I didn't have the kids I would definitely shop later at night - I did go shopping at about 2am once, a few years ago now, and I think I had the entire store to myself!

 

That's interesting. What kind of stores are there which are open 24/7? I mean other than 7Eleven and stores of that kind. Do supermarkets also open 24/7? In my place, they are only open up to midnight, latest.

Myself, I like to shop when there are a lot of people around because shopping is the time for me to see some real people. The rest of the time, I live in cyber space.

 

I work in shifts, so I usually go during normal working hours of the week, when everyone else is at work it really saves a lot of time.

 

I like to shop early. Especially on a weekday. It is rarely crowded, no matter where I am shopping, because most folks are at work. It's peaceful, the shelves are stocked and I don't have to stand in long lines. It's early in the morning for me or later in the evening after everyone else has gone home. I despise shopping during normal shopping hours when it crowded.

 

For Walmart, I prefer to go in the morning and before lunch. Anytime after lunch here can be crazy in our Walmart unless you go after 8 or 9 PM. Grocery shopping I go whenever and it really isn't too bad as long as I go to Stop and Shop and not Shoprite. Shoprite is not really that much cheaper, but everybody thinks they are and Shoprite can be crowded from 10 AM all the way up to 8 PM. I don't deal with Shoprite much, weekends you are lucky if you can find a parking spot and the isles are crowded with people who are socializing instead of shopping.

I go to Stop and Shop and I can just shop without having 5 people clogging each isle talking about what they are doing later!

 

The stores that I normally go to have enough lines that I don't have to worry too much about crowds. But, on a general level, I would say shopping in the morning between 9-11 would be a good time and then between 2-4 in the afternoon. So many stores have those hot bars, so it's become a new lunch spot and you can get caught up in all of that if you aren't careful.

 

I am a morning person, I like to get there as soon as the doors open and get it over with. I hate standing in lines and people bumping into me with carts.

 

Unfortunately we don't have the privilege of late night shopping where I live. The shops in the mall normally close at 6pm and the convenience stores at 9pm. I prefer to do my shopping early morning about 9.30am onwards when the stores are still relatively quiet and the shop assistants still friendly. The afternoons, between 1pm and 4pm, are quite busy with moms and kids and those that work normally do their shopping from 4pm.

The shops are unbearably hectic during the weekends, especially paydays, when everyone rushes around doing what they have to do. These times, when tempers seem to flare up more easily and patience seems nonexistence, are times when I avoid all shops.

 

I have a walmart down the street from me that's opened 24 hours. For me the best time to shop there is in the mornings any thing after 10 it starts to get crowded even during the week and at night is when they start to unload all the new shipments so its even harder to shop then.

 

I have found the best time to go shopping at Walmart -when it is the least crowded- is between 3 and 5 AM. There are virtually no people there during those hours.

 

I try to go shopping for groceries between 9 am and 11 am. It is generally really quiet, and everything is in stock. However if I go after 7 pm, there are some last minutes sales on product expiring that day. (But I am not living in the United States anymore. When i was in New York, I really enjoyed shopping at 11 pm, it was the best time for me)

It's funny, I read the other answers and nobody gives the same answer . I suppose that the best time to go shopping is between 7 am and 11 pm then

 

There's quite a bit of places that are open 24/7. It just depends in the area that you live in. Some stores that are 24/7 would be WalMart, Vons (Safeway), CVS, and Rite Aid. Some people go late at night in order to get their shopping done without being disturbed.

 

If its open 24/7 then I prefer middle of the night. I hate crowds. If its only open in the day time then I prefer early morning. I get in and back home before the rush hits.

 

We are usually up around 4 am during the week and by the weekend I can't sleep past 5 am no matter how much I really want to. I usually can get to Walmart by 6:30am and there are very few people shopping then. The mark downs are all in place by then and the employees are very friendly and helpful.

 

Ok the Walmart I go to in Miami is ALWAYS full - no matter what time you go. It could be 3 am and there will be lines in each register. I have found that if you want to beat the lines you have to go throughout the week and at a very awkward time. Usually tuesday or wednesday at 5 or 6 am is best. Most people are asleep at that time since they either have a job to go to in the morning and wont get up that early to shop or did their shopping and going out late the night before and are home sleeping off the drag of it. Then again I go to a super cetner thats open 24/7 so perhaps the ones that have closing times are a little easier to get through.

 

You may wish to get there early in the morning. While I pay little attention to the crowds unless they get nasty like on Christmas for example, I have at times intentionally gone into a business where I knew that their business would be slow. Mostly in my case it would be Laundromats because that is my personal pet peeve. Mostly it is because of people bringing undisciplined children in the place while I need to think about things.