131 Retailers Will Ship for Free This Year

On Free Shipping Day (December 15) 131 retailers will ship your purchases to you for free. Here are all the details you need to know.

According to the latest statistics, over 55 percent of shoppers are now buying their Christmas gifts online. This isn’t surprising to me personally. With Amazon’s free Prime shipping, I do most of my shopping from my computer, too.

However, if you want to buy from a retail store other than Amazon, the cost of shipping can be a deterrent. This is especially true if you have waited this long to finish your gift-buying. You may need to upgrade your shipping speed to ensure delivery by Christmas Day.

This is where Free Shipping Day comes into play.

What Is Free Shipping Day?

Held on December 15 this year, Free Shipping Day is a one-day, promotional shopping event where hundreds of retailers come together to help facilitate the remainder of your holiday shopping. On this day, not only do retailers agree to offer free shipping, but they also guarantee delivery by Christmas Eve.

Free Shipping Day was originally started in 2008 in an effort to extend the holiday e-shopping season for consumers. Stats showed that Cyber Monday (the Monday following Thanksgiving/Black Friday) was the peak of online shopping for the holidays, with a steep drop immediately following.

The reason for that drop? Consumers didn’t want to pay for expedited shipping and assumed that without it, their purchases wouldn’t arrive in time to be placed under the tree.

Enter Free Shipping Day.

When retailers originally started the event, most required a minimum purchase to qualify for the guaranteed Christmas Eve delivery and free shipping. Since then, however, the consumers have spoken. Retailers no longer require minimum order amounts for buyers who make Free Shipping Day purchases.

The response to Free Shipping Day has exploded as a result. In fact, in recent years, sales from the promotional day have exceeded $1B. Talk about a turnaround for last-minute online gift sales!

Who Is Participating This Year?

On December 15, you’ll be able to shop at over 130 online retailers. You can get not only free shipping and guaranteed Christmas Eve delivery, but also additional savings offers from many of them.

The actual offers and savings for each store will be revealed beginning at 12:01 am on the event day. Simply visit FreeShippingDay.com to view them and begin your shopping experience.

If you want to take a look at the (growing) directory of this year’s participating stores, you can visit the site now. That way, you can make your shopping list and plan what else you need to buy. Then, on the big day, simply visit the homepage to see what additional savings you’ll snag and take advantage of your complimentary shipping offer.

Current retailers that are participating for 2017 include Target, Bass Pro Shops, Under Armour, Lands End, Stride Rite, Fat Brain Toys, Talbots, the Vitamin Shoppe, and more. You can also view stores by categories, such as Electronics, Department Stores, Bookstores, Children’s retailers, and the like.

• Make sure you use Ebates to do your online shopping.  You can save up to 10% cash back on your purchases and still get the free shipping!

How Much Will You Save?

The amount you’ll save varies from store to store and depends on what you order.

The last time I placed an online order (for two children’s shirts), I paid $7 for standard Ground shipping. Had I expedited the order–which some retailers would typically require to receive holiday delivery in nine days or less–I would have paid as much as $35. Imagine if I had ordered a piece of furniture, shoes, or another bulky or heavy item!

Buying on Free Shipping Day not only saves you a trip out to the mall in the holiday shopping chaos but also potentially saves you hundreds of dollars in shipping fees in order to receive your order in time. Plus, that doesn’t even include the additional savings and coupons that many of the retailers will unveil at 12:01 am on the 15th.

If you’re still a few gifts short of being Christmas-morning ready, Free Shipping Day may be your saving grace. Not only will you snag some great discounts, but you’ll have your items delivered by Christmas Eve, guaranteed, and for free. That’s a great deal, and worth the visit to FreeShippingDay.com for me.