The best (and worst) times to shop

Time is money baby, so just in time for the holiday shopping rush, Foursquare looked at foot traffic data to understand when you’ll find crowd-free clothing stores, jewelry shops — even supermarkets and liquor stores.

The takeaway: Generally speaking, Monday, Thursday, and Friday are great days to shop.

On Monday, shop for the women in your life. Cosmetics around noon; clothing, jewelry, candy, and liquor on Monday nights.

Looking for books, beers and building supplies? Thursday is the day to hit up bookstores, places that sell beer and hardware stores.

It’s all about the kids on Fridays. Visit big-box stores on Friday morning (Walmart, Target and Big Lots) and toy stores in the evening. Friday night is also when the grocery aisles will be the most empty.

Shopping for everyone else, from colleagues to babysitters, lifelong friends, your nephew and your mailman? Try Sunday. Department stores, arts and crafts, and discount shops in the morning, electronic stores in the evening.

If there’s one thing you learn from Foursquare’s data this holiday season — do not shop on Saturday! The data proves it. Across the board, Saturday is the busiest day for almost every category. (An exception is Thursday night, which tends to be a busy time for grocery stores; bookstores and jewelry shops are jammed on Sunday.)

Finally, know just the right moment to ship gifts far and wide with our go-to guide for when Fed-Ex, UPS, and the USPS will be the most and least packed in the lead up to the holidays.

Happy crowd-free holidays, ya’ll.

PS — For more holiday shopping data, check out our recent report on early and last-minute shoppers (the trends might surprise you).