Black Friday bargain hunters are being courted by Google, which wants them to try out its latest search facility.
The tech company has made it possible to see how busy shops and other popular destinations are, in real time. A search for a shop now delivers a status update – such as “a little busy” – and information about how long people typically spend at the location. Google says it should help users navigate “Black Friday swarms”.
The new live information facility is based on information sent from Google app users, who share their location data with the company.
At present, there is no way for businesses to opt out of the service beyond deliberately blocking mobile phone signals.
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flickr photo by Neon Tommy https://flickr.com/photos/neontommy/5453704401 shared under a Creative Commons (BY-SA) license
