For Immediate Release

Washington, December 8, 2008—People buying gifts online this holiday season should consider not only the shopping days, but the shipping days before Christmas. According to the 2008 Shop.org/Shopzilla eHoliday Study, two-thirds (68.1%) of online retailers said the deadline to place orders for ground shipping with delivery by Christmas is on or before Friday, December 19. But time is of the essence as more than one third (34%) of retailers’ ground shipping deadlines will expire on or before Tuesday, December 16.

 

“Online shoppers may want to start checking a few more names off their lists because shipping deadlines are quickly approaching," says Scott Silverman, Executive Director for Shop.org. "With fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, retailers' last days for free and standard shipping will feel earlier than usual to many shoppers."

 

Budget-conscious shoppers who want to take advantage of free shipping will find that free shipping offers will begin to peak by December 16. According to the survey, the majority of retailers (77.8%) plan to offer free shipping with conditions* at some point during the holiday season, and most free ground shipping offers (74.4%) will expire on or before December 20. Shop.org’s website, CyberMonday.com, provides a list of retailers still offering free shipping for delivery by Christmas and Shopzilla.com aggregates free shipping from retailers across the web.

 

For holiday procrastinators who don’t want to fight the crowds, online retailers will offer expedited or one-night shipping options with guaranteed delivery by Christmas. According to the survey, 61.9 percent of retailers’ express two-day shipping offers will end on December 21, while another 31.0 percent of offers will expire on December 22. In addition, half of retailers’ express one-day shipping offers will expire on or before December 22, though nearly half of retailers (47.5%) say that orders placed by December 23 and sent express will be received by Christmas.

 

“Let’s face it, some people only get motivated to shop when the pressure is on. There are a few alternative strategies like eGift cards, in-store pick-up and same day delivery items that can help you stretch your online shopping to the 11th hour,” says Shopzilla’s online shopping expert Helen Malani.

 

About the Study

The eHoliday Study, now in its seventh year, provides an authoritative snapshot of the holiday activities of both large and small online retailers, many of which have been in business for at least nine years, and also includes the sentiments of online holiday shoppers. The Study, conducted by BizRate Research, a Shopzilla company, for Shop.org, surveyed 2,040 online buyers (defined as anyone who has made an online purchase in the last twelve months) from September 29-October 3, 2008 and 60 online retailers from October 1-20, 2008.

 

About Shop.org

Shop.org, a division of the National Retail Federation, is the world's leading membership community for digital retail. Founded in 1996, Shop.org's 700 members include the 10 largest retailers in the U.S. and more than 60 percent of the Internet Retailer Top 100 E-Retailers. It's where the best retail minds come together to gain the insight, knowledge and intelligence to make smarter, more informed decisions in the evolving world of the Internet and multichannel retailing. Shop.org programs and activities include benchmarking research, events and networking communities.

 

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* Free shipping with conditions means that a customer must purchase a certain item or a certain number of or dollar amount of merchandise to receive the offer.