This Friday, December 16, is Free Shipping Day. Will your small business participate?
What is Free Shipping Day?
Started in 2008 by Luke Knowles, Free Shipping Day is a one-day, online-shopping event when thousands of merchants offer free shipping with delivery by Christmas Eve. The goal is to extend the holiday shopping season for online merchants and give procrastinating consumers one last chance to grab holiday deals.
Free Shipping Day has quickly joined the ranks of other well-known holiday discount days, like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. In fact, last year Free Shipping Day was responsible for almost $300 million more in sales than Black Friday.
Who Participates?
Big and small businesses are signing up to participate in Free Shipping Day this year. Check out the list of participating businesses.
Should Your Business Participate?
That's a good question, and it should be considered thoroughly before you make a decision. There are a lot of factors to think about, including inventory, order fulfillment, customer service bandwidth, potential lost profits, competition and more. This article on Entrepreneur.com shares the advice of three small business owners who participated in Free Shipping Day before. It's a must-read before you make a decision.
If you're ready to sign up, jump on over to the merchant sign-up form and get started. If you are participating, or have participated in previous year, what factors have led you to take part?
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