News > Smart & Connected Life Google Maps Adds New Features to Deal With Holiday Rush Now provides detailed information about crowds By Cesar Cadenas Cesar Cadenas Twitter Writer California State University - Long Beach Cesar Cadenas has been writing about the tech industry since 2016 on a variety of topics like cryptocurrency, video games, the latest gadgets, and much more. lifewire's editorial guidelines Published on November 16, 2021 01:23PM EST Fact checked by Jerri Ledford Fact checked by Jerri Ledford Western Kentucky University Gulf Coast Community College Jerri L. Ledford has been writing, editing, and fact-checking tech stories since 1994. Her work has appeared in Computerworld, PC Magazine, Information Today, and many others. lifewire's fact checking process Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Smart & Connected Life Mobile Phones Internet & Security Computers & Tablets Smart Life Home Theater & Entertainment Software & Apps Social Media Streaming Gaming In preparation for the holiday season, Google has added some new features to Google Maps to make getting around busy areas a lot easier. According to a post on Google's blog, The Keyword, the company recognizes this time of the year can be pretty stressful, so to alleviate that, these features aim to keep people informed while also maximizing time spent with friends and family. The additions include seeing where large crowds are gathering and finding stores in an area. Oscar Wong/Getty Images You can check out if a part of town is busy or not with the new Area Busyness feature. It shows live data to help you see where crowds are forming so you can either avoid that area or go straight to it if something like a fair is happening. Tapping on an area in Area Busyness will show you how busy it gets throughout the day, along with what local businesses can be found there. The Directory tab is expanding to include detailed information on what types of stores are in a building and nearby car rental places, parking lots, and more. And for each business, you will see what time it's open, what floor it's on, and reviews. Kathrin Ziegler/Getty Images And Pickup with Google Maps now supports more grocery stores under the Kroger Family brand, like Ralph’s, Fry’s, and Mariano’s. With these inclusions, Pickup with Google Maps is now available in over 2,000 stores across 30 states. These new features will be available on Google Maps for iOS and Android devices and are currently being rolled out in a new update. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You're in! Thanks for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. Thank you for signing up! Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit