‘Free Shipping Day’ gives consumers one last chance at online saving

Free Shipping Day will guarantee all shipments by Christmas Eve In an attempt to get shoppers to purchase gifts online that will be delivered by the Christmas holiday, many online retailers are cutting shipping costs today and guaranteeing on-time delivery for shoppers who looking for deals and consolidating debt this season.

According to FreeShippingDay.com, which compiles a list of retailers who are shedding their shipping costs for one day on December 17 this year, the purpose of the online shopping event is to reward consumers who ship online with "free shipping for doing their last minute Christmas shopping at home."

The event, which CBS News said first occurred last year, is also a chance for online retailers to increase their sales figures further into the shopping season. Traditionally, many online retailers experience a dive in sales as December progressed because of consumer fears that gifts won’t arrive in time for the holidays.

There are 741 online retailers offering no shipping charges on any of their products for this year’s iteration of Free Shipping Day, ranging from mainstream websites such as BrooksBrothers.com to independent shops such as MagellansToyShop.com

This year’s Free Shipping Day comes in the middle of a shopping season that has seen an increase in online sales. According to a recent comScore survey, retail e-commerce spending has hit $20.7 billion as of December 13 this holiday season, a 4 percent increase over 2008’s online spending figures.