Amazon extends free-shipping deadline by 1 day
Amazon is courting last-minute holiday shoppers by extending its free-shipping deadline to Dec. 19. Amazon says members of its $99 annual Prime loyalty program can order by Dec. 22 for two-day shipping.
Workers move merchandise at the Amazon fulfillment center in Lebanon, Tenn. Amazon is extending its free shipping deadlines by one day to Dec. 19, the company announced Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014.
Mark Humphrey/AP/File
New York
Amazon is courting last-minute holiday shoppers by extending its free-shipping deadline by one day to Dec. 19.
Orders over $35 are eligible for free shipping. Last year's deadline was Dec. 18. The e-commerce company says members of its $99 annual Prime loyalty program can order by Dec. 22 for two-day shipping.
One-day shipping for items ordered on Dec. 23 costs $2.99 and up for Amazon Prime members. And same day delivery is available in 12 cities on items ordered by 10 a.m. local time for $5.99 per shipment.
Retailers are hoping to avoid shipping snafus that occurred last year while at the same time getting the last-minute online shoppers dollar. Last year, FedEx and UPS failed to deliver many packages in time for Christmas amid an unexpected holiday backlog, prompting apologies from both companies.
Wal-Mart said last week the cutoff for orders with standard shipping to reach homes by Christmas is Dec. 19.
The complete details of Amazon's shipping deadlines listed on the website are below:
Contiguous U.S. Ordering Deadlines
Shipping Speed Ordering Cutoff Date Free Shipping (Non-Prime) December 19 Standard Shipping December 19 Two-Day Shipping December 22 One-Day Shipping December 23 Local Express Delivery December 24 Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico Ordering Deadlines
Shipping Speed Ordering Cutoff Date Free Shipping (Non-Prime) - AK and HI Only December 13 Standard Shipping - AK, HI, PR, and U.S. Territories and Freely Associated States December 14 Two-Day Shipping - AK, HI, and PR December 15 One-Day Shipping - AK, HI, and PR December 16