By Nancy King Dennis

Christmas shopping procrastinators operate on deadline s (i.e “I’m not going shopping until I absolutely have to”). For those not delivering gifts themselves, the postal service and other delivery systems provide that absolute cut-off for when to shop.

Consequently, brick and mortar retailers probably saw a shopping surge this weekend as Wednesday, Dec. 16^th, is the deadline to mail packages parcel post, the most economical service the post office offers, and still expect delivery by Christmas. UPS’s deadline is the day before, Tuesday, Dec. 15^th, for standard delivery, while the Federal Express standard deadline is a day later, Thursday, Dec. 17^th.

For many retailers, this week also is the deadline for Christmas delivery of gifts ordered online. According to the National Retail Federation, nearly two-thirds (62.3 percent) of retailers’ shipping deadlines for Christmas delivery will fall on or before Friday, Dec. 18, with the majority of holiday shipping deadlines (34 percent) occurring on Friday itself.

Another date for consumers to keep in mind is this Thursday, Dec. 17, which is the second annual National Free Shipping Day, the day participating retailers ship products for free and guarantee arrival by Christmas Eve.  More than 250 retailers participated in last year’s Free Shipping Day and that number already has topped 600 this year. Businesses can participate free of charge in Free Shipping Day and have their logo and free shipping offer posted on the home page of FreeShippingDay.com by visiting the site and filling out a form. Consequently, Thursday could end up as one of the biggest online shopping days for the 2009 holiday shopping season.

Saturday more than likely will be the biggest shopping day at brick-and-mortar retailers as the Saturday before Christmas is normally the day when the most shoppers hit the stores. Most online retailers, however, will see a deep decline in shopping after Friday, because of the shipping deadlines.

The true procrastinators do have other shipping options, if they are willing to pay for them. The postal deadline for 1^st class mail, priority mail and military express mail is Monday, Dec. 21^st, while the Express Mail and 1^st Class Priority/Express deadline is Wednesday, Dec. 23^rd.

Fed Ex offers an Express Saver on Monday, Dec. 21^st; two-day shipping on Tuesday, Dec. 22^nd; overnight on Wednesday, Dec. 23^rd; and same day delivery on Friday, Dec. 25^th. The UPS deadline for Next Day Air service is Wednesday, Dec. 23^rd.

Savvy retailers already have been communicating with the now-I’m-ready-to-buy shoppers, who must meet the mailing deadlines to get their gifts to the intended recipients in time. For those retailers who haven’t, now is the time to capture these late-in-the-game consumers through your online marketing efforts.