Holiday Shipping Deadlines (or Same-Day Fees)

 

It’s the time of year where retailers are starting to confirm their 2021 holiday shipping deadlines. To help navigate, RetailMeNot rounded up some last-minute options for all those who waited to start their shopping lists this year from online retailer and carrier shipping deadlines, to in-store pickup!

Our guide to shipping deadlines and free shipping deadlines will help you get your packages on time. Note that while in previous years, retailers often offered free shipping promos well into December, that’s unlikely this year. Another difference we’re seeing this year? Item-by-item shipping estimates, rather than uniform shipping cutoffs. In previous years, retailers would often announce an official order-by date that applied to most items. This year, major retailers are more likely to provide specific delivery-date estimates after you add items to your cart. Amazon Standard Delivery: Check delivery estimate in the cart. Amazon is providing estimates on an order-by-order basis. Expedited Delivery: Check delivery estimate in the cart. Amazon is providing estimates on an order-by-order basis. Barnes and Noble Standard Delivery: Dec. 16 for Standard. Expedited Delivery: Dec. 20 for Express; Dec. 21 for Expedited. Store pickup cutoff is noon local time on Dec. 24. Best Buy Standard Delivery: See estimated arrival date for each product at checkout. Expedited Delivery: See estimated arrival date for each product at checkout. Dell Standard Delivery: Dec. 15 for Standard. Expedited Delivery: Dec. 18 for Expedited; Dec. 22 for Express ($25 extra fee). Harry & David Standard Delivery: Dec. 18 for Standard. Expedited Delivery: Dec. 21 for 3-Day Express; Dec. 23 for Overnight. Kohl’s Standard Delivery: View estimated delivery date in cart. Varies by item and ZIP code. Expedited Delivery: Expedited shipping already being shown as NOT available for certain items. Use same-day pickup options for items available locally. L.L. Bean Standard Delivery: Dec. 20 at midnight ET for free shipping (with $50 purchase); Dec. 6 if monogrammed. Expedited Delivery: Dec. 20 (no on-time shipping after Dec. 20) Macy’s Standard Delivery: Dec. 22 at 5 p.m. ET for standard (free with qualifying purchase) within continental U.S. Expedited Delivery: Dec. 23 at 12 p.m. ET for Express within continental U.S. Dec. 24 at 3 p.m. local time for store pickup. Pottery Barn Standard Delivery: Dec. 19 at 10 p.m. PT for standard. Dec. 18 at 4 p.m. PT for monogramming. Expedited Delivery: Dec. 22 for next-day. Dec. 21 at 11 p.m. PT for monogramming rush delivery. Target Standard Delivery: Dec. 18 for free 2-day shipping on orders over $35. May vary by item and ZIP code. Expedited Delivery: Same-day delivery available, but slots may be limited on Dec. 24. Sam’s Club Standard Delivery: Dec. 17 for Ground; Dec. 8 for freight. Expedited Delivery: Dec. 21 for Expedited. Walmart Standard Delivery: Check delivery estimate for each item at checkout. Expedited Delivery: Check delivery estimate for each item at checkout. Same-day delivery available with 6 p.m. cutoff (availability may be limited on Christmas Eve). Carrier Shipping Deadlines Shipping a gift yourself? Make sure you’ve marked your calendar with shipping deadlines for FedEx, USPS and UPS. FedEx Holiday Shipping Deadlines Here are your deadlines for the most common shipping services within the contiguous U.S. See FedEx’s full list of deadlines for the 2021 season. Dec. 15: FedEx Ground deadline. Dec. 21: FedEx Express Saver, FedEx three-day freight. Dec. 22: FedEx two-day, FedEx one-day freight. UPS Holiday Shipping Deadlines See all of UPS’s shipping deadlines for the 2021 holiday season. Ground: UPS isn’t even providing a cutoff for ground shipping — you’ll need to get an estimate via UPS’s website, and that estimate will vary depending on where you are and where you’re shipping to. Dec. 21: UPS 3 Day Select. Dec. 22: UPS 2nd Day Air. Dec. 23: UPS Next Day Air. USPS Holiday Shipping Deadlines See the full list of the U.S. Postal Service’s holiday shipping deadlines for 2021. Dec. 15: USPS Retail Ground. Dec. 17: First-Class Mail. Dec. 18: Priority Mail. Dec. 23: Priority Mail Express. Buy Online, Pick Up in Store Options If you’re shopping at the last minute but don’t want to shop inside a store, store pickup is a great option. These days, most major retailers offer in-store and curbside pickup options. Each store will have its own polices, but in general, the way it works is: Purchase a product from a store’s site, wait for the retailer to let you know when your item is ready, and go pick it up. Many retailers offer these services same-day, though most will have daily cutoffs. So if you’re shopping at the VERY last minute, make sure it’s not too late to pick up your order before Dec. 25. The key here is whether or not your item is in stock. If it is, you can generally pick it up a lot sooner — sometimes within hours. Some stores do offer ship-to-store, but this process can take days. These are just some of the major retailers offering store-pickup options in 2021: • Apple • Barnes & Noble • Bed Bath & Beyond • Best Buy • Bloomingdale’s • CVS • Dick’s Sporting Goods • DSW • Gap • GameStop • Home Depot • JCPenney • Kmart • Kohl’s • Lowe’s • Macy’s • Nordstrom • Office Depot • PetSmart • Sam’s Club • Sears • Staples • Target • Urban Outfitters • Walgreens • Walmart • World Market Can’t pick up your order yourself? Most stores let you designate a pickup person who can retrieve your items for you. Faster Delivery Options A few stores offer expedited shipping options to their loyalty members — and some offer these perks to everyone who places an order over a certain amount. Note this, however: As of Dec. 6, we are already items from major retailers being labeled with “expedited shipping not available.” With retailers struggling with supply chain issues and shipping delays, it’s clear that expedited shipping (even if you’re willing to pay for it) is not a guaranteed option for procrastinators this year. Amazon: Amazon Prime ($119 membership fee per year or $12.99 a month) offers free two-day shipping. If you’re in a delivery area for Amazon Prime Now, you’ll get soon-as-one-hour delivery. ASOS: Sign up for Premier Delivery for $19 a year and get unlimited next-day delivery when you spend at least $50 on your order. Plus, get free express shipping, no minimum. Best Buy: Best Buy offers free soon-as-next-day shipping on thousands of items, and it waives the $35 minimum order amount to My Best Buy Elite and Elite Plus members. Elite Plus members also get free same-day delivery. Home Depot: You can get free two-day shipping on thousands of home improvement items and free in-store pickup. They also have next-day delivery on select items. ShopRunner: Sign up to ShopRunner for $79 a year, and get one year of two-day shipping free and free returns from thousands of brands. Shipt members get access to ShopRunner for free for a year. Target: Shoppers receive free two-day shipping on Target.com when placing orders over $35. If you have the Target RedCard, you get free two-day shipping with no minimum. Need your order even sooner? Subscribe to Shipt for $99 a year and get free same-day delivery on Target groceries and thousands of other essentials. Walmart: Walmart, which already offered free two-day shipping in the U.S. on purchases of at least $35, is now offering free next-day delivery on eligible online orders over $35 from both third-party sellers and the retail giant itself. No membership fee is required. Even better, Walmart+ members get free next-day or two-day shipping on all orders outside of fresh groceries for no minimum. Membership costs $12.95 per month or $98 per year. Zappos: Regular customers get free two-day shipping, but become a VIP member and you can get guaranteed next-day delivery, earn points and enjoy fast refunds. Plus, link your Amazon Prime account and get an extra 1 point for every $1 you spend. Same-Day Delivery Various retailers offer same-day delivery, either as part of their own memberships or by partnering with delivery services such as Instacart. Fees for this service vary from retailer to retailer. See a list of retailers offering same-day delivery in 2021. Here are some examples: Amazon Cost: Non-Prime members pay $12.99 per order for same-day delivery in as little as five hours. Prime members get it for free on orders over $35 (otherwise they pay $2.99 per order). Order by: 5 p.m. Click for a list of eligible Amazon same-day delivery cities. Bloomingdale’s Cost: $20 plus standard shipping prices for qualifying items in select cities. Loyalist members get free shipping, so they pay just the $20 fee. Order by: 12 p.m. If you order later than that, your order will arrive the next day. Instacart Cost: The cost varies by which store you order from and what you purchase Order by: You’ll choose a delivery time slot when you order. Availability of same-day time slot varies, based on demand. Macy’s Cost: $15 for items that qualify for orders of $25 or more. $25.95 on other items. See details. Order by: 12 p.m. For on-time Christmas delivery, you must order by Dec. 24 at 10 a.m. local time. Postmates Cost: You can order almost anything for different prices. Recently, they announced a partnership with MAC Cosmetics to deliver their beauty products in only two hours. Order by: Anytime; you’ll pick a delivery slot based on what’s available that day. Target Cost: They’re partnered with Shipt to offer free same-day delivery on orders of $35 or more. For orders under $35, pay $9.99 per order. Membership costs $99 a year. Order by: During store hours (varies by location). Sephora Cost: $6.95. And there’s no minimum order amount. Order by: 4 p.m. via Sephora’s site or app. See details. Walmart Cost: $7.95-$9.95 delivery fee for same-day orders of $35+. You can also pay an extra $10 on top of that for Walmart Express delivery and get your order in under two hours. Walmart+ members get free same-day delivery on orders of $35+ and pay just the $10 extra fee for Walmart Express. Order by: Order by 4 p.m. For the 2021 holiday season, Walmart has extended that daily deadline to 6 p.m. Whole Foods (for Amazon Prime members) Cost: $9.95 (This is a new fee as of 2021). Additional fees apply on one-hour delivery orders. Order by: Deadline varies by demand. Schedule your delivery time when you place your order.