• December 12, 2012

A new survey shows that while free shipping has become the absolute norm this season, with nine out of ten stores offering it as some point this holiday season, those deals evaporate the closer the holiday gets.

According to Shop.org’s 2012 eHoliday study, conducted by BIGinsight, almost half--45.7%--will end those standard free shipping deals by Dec. 17. A much smaller group, 5.7%, intends to use Dec. 21 as a cutoff point. And overall, 43.3% will end expedited shipping December 20 or 21, with 36.7% saying they won’t offer any expedited shipping deals at all. 

Such offers are important, because while online shopping is at record levels this year, deals on shipping are a major reason consumers respond, with 35% of consumers in Shop.org’s past surveys saying it's the main reason they shop online.