Consumer Tip: Take Advantage of Free Shipping Day


If you’re still pulling your holiday shopping list together, today is your lucky day. On December 18th, many retailers participate in Free Shipping Day.

Today you can get get free shipping (regardless of the minimum purchase) at participating retailers. So right now is a great opportunity for you to finish up your shopping online.

According the Free Shipping Day website, this day is becoming almost as popular as Black Friday and Cyber Monday. In 2011, when Free Shipping Day fell on a Friday, it became the highest-earning Friday in the history of online retail, raking in more than $1 billion in online sales.

There are roughly 1,198 stores offering this deal. Among the participants are Target, J. Crew, Eddie Bauer, and Lenovo.

Here are three tips for making the most of this shopping day:

  1. Don’t buy more than you usually would. Just because there is no charge for shipping doesn’t mean you should buy one of everything. Resist the urge to splurge. And don’t reason that you could use the money you’re saving on shipping to purchase another item. Save your money.
  2. Think ahead. Think about items you may need to purchase for next year. Now would be a good time to get a jump on birthday, graduation, and holiday gifts for 2015.  
  3. Be alert. Some websites have their own free shipping offers a few days before the official event. However, they might require you to use a coupon code in order to get free shipping. Don’t forget to read the fine print.

×