Free Shipping Day was first designated in December 2008 as part of an effort to extend the online holiday shopping season to almost a week before Christmas. During the 1-day promotion, participating merchants offer free shipping with delivery by Christmas Eve.
In 2009, Free Shipping Day attracted more than 750 merchants, and the FreeShippingDay.com web site saw 232,000 visitors on Free Shipping Day last year. This year, Free Shipping Day will be held on December 17, and over 1,000 retailers are expected to participate.
The concept was created by Luke Knowles, who created shopping website FreeShipping.org with his wife Maisie in 2007. Merchants participating in last year's event included Macy's, Kohl's, Dell, Toys R Us, Jcpenney, Sears, Ralph Lauren and Eddie Bauer.
