Do you still have holiday shopping to do? Free Shipping Day is Friday, December 15, and if you’re a procrastinator, you may want to take advantage of this freebie offered by hundreds of retailers including Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Macy’s, Toys R Us, and more.
Many retailers are promising delivery in time before Christmas Day even if you order a few days before December 25. However, once Free Shipping Day is over, last-minute shoppers may have to pay bucks for expedited shipping that, in many cases, may not be guaranteed during the busy holiday season.
The United States Postal Service expects to deliver more than 15 billion pieces of mail nationwide during the holiday season, but not every package is making it to its destination on time. WRAL reports that they have received complaints from consumers about delayed, misplaced, or undelivered packages.
It’s a busy time of year for FedEx and UPS as well. Fortune reports that FedEx will deliver 400 million packages this season, and UPS is set to deliver 750 million packages and is “struggling to keep up with deliveries.”
Although it’s impossible to guarantee that your package will arrive on time, especially if there are weather delays, you will save a few bucks by purchasing your gifts on Free Shipping Day. USA Today reports that there are 800 retailers participating in Free Shipping Day on December 15.
The rules for free shipping vary — some companies will offer free shipping on almost everything (Target, Best Buy), and others require a minimum purchase. It’s important to read the specific details on the retailer’s website before you enter your payment information and complete your purchase.
Details on all 800 offers will be released on the Free Shipping Day website at 12:01 a.m. ET on Friday, December 15, as well as on the individual retailers’ official websites. For now, the site has released the names of most companies that will offer this freebie including Bloomingdale’s, GAP, Best Buy, Macy’s, Walmart, Target, Vera Bradley, JC Penney, Popcorn Factory, Old Navy, Lululemon, UGG, Petco, GameStop, and hundreds more.
If you are an Amazon Prime member, shipping is free on many items and you will have a few extra days to finish your holiday shopping. The deadline for free standard shipping is December 18, and the cutoff for free two-day shipping is December 22.