Shopping Savings: Free Shipping Day

Free Shipping Day is Monday, Dec. 17. With over 1,500 stores signed up and more being added over the weekend, the one-day online shopping event is expected to break records.

Luke Knowles, creator of Free Shipping Day, credits the event's first-ever Monday occurrence as a big reason for its high-earning potential. "All past events have been scheduled on a Friday, typically one of the slower days for online shopping," says Knowles. "We broke records in 2010 and 2011 with this handicap, so I'm excited to see what this year will bring." Free Shipping Day's 2010 was the third-heaviest online shopping event in history. In 2011, the event generated over $1 billion in online sales and surpassed Black Friday's online earnings for the second year in a row.

Shoppers  are attracted to the late-season deals and promise of delivery by Christmas Eve. In fact, a recent Rasmussen Reports survey shows only 15 percent of shoppers have completed their holiday shopping, with 59 percent admitting they haven't yet started. "Free Shipping Day is the procrastinator's holiday," continues Knowles. "It's meant to give last-minute shoppers an opportunity to save money on gifts and still receive them in time for Christmas. I think that's why it's so popular; it speaks to a lot of people." 

Offers will go live on FreeShippingDay.com at midnight EST on Dec. 17.