Each year, U.S. holiday shoppers have three key dates to look forward to:

• The day after Thanksgiving: Black Friday
• The Monday after Thanksgiving: Cyber Monday
• Three days after Christmas: The day Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You stops playing in Target

But did you know there’s a lesser-known shopping holiday that many folks miss?

It’s called Free Shipping Day, and as the name implies, it’s a chance for holiday shoppers to save a few bucks on last-minute gifts.

So how does it work? When is it? Which retailers are participating in 2022, and is it worth marking your calendar for?

Lastly, why haven’t you heard of it?

What is Free Shipping Day?

Free Shipping Day, which typically takes place around mid-December each year, is a lesser-known “holiday” when online retailers offer free shipping on pretty much everything in their inventory. This year, it falls on December 14.

As you probably surmised, this special online shopping holiday was conceived in the good ol’ US of A. Back in 2008, Luke and Maisie Knowles — the power couple behind Coupon Sherpa and later Kinoli — noticed that consumer spending dropped off a cliff after Black Friday, since the sales were over and nobody wanted to pay for shipping.

After all, free shipping was a rare treat back then.

MRW it’s 2008 and I’m offered free shipping on my Coldplay CD