Online shoppers are expected to head online in big numbers on November 26th, the Monday after Thanksgiving weekend, a day that has become known as "Cyber Monday. It's when people return to work after the Thanksgiving weekend and take advantage of fast Internet connections at the office to shop and browse online. Last year, Cyber Monday sales totaled $687 million and Web retailers anticipate another surge this year.


The allure of shopping at work is still pervasive, even though nearly three-quarters of U.S. households now have broadband. A recent survey reveals 50 percent of employers monitor employees' Internet usage at work, but most tend to be more lenient around the holidays.

While Cyber Monday is thought of as the online equivalent of Black Friday, neither of those days usually turn out to be when the most money is spent. For brick-and-mortar retailers, that's typically the Saturday before Christmas. According to AOL Shopping, the heaviest shopping days online tend to fall in the second week of December (anywhere around Dec. 12-18), in the days leading up to the free/standard shipping deadline.

For their part, e-tailers are playing into the Cyber Monday hype, hoping to hook shoppers worried about a weak economy, with special deals and incentives. According to a survey by Shop.org, nearly 75 percent of online retailers are planning special one day, "online only" promotions for Cyber Monday ... 25 percent say they'll be offering free shipping on all purchases that day. Expect most others to offer free shipping as well, but it may come with conditions, i.e., spend $50.00 to qualify.

A good starting point to find Cyber Monday deals is CyberMonday.com, a site organized/hosted by Shop.org, an online extension of the National Retail Federation. More than 550 online stores plan to post Cyber Monday promotions on the site on November 26 and throughout the remainder of the holiday shopping season. Some of the deals already posted on CyberMonday.com include free overnight shipping at Zappos.com, free shipping at Overstock.com, 15% off for new customers at HSN.com and $200 off Sony VAIO notebooks on Sonystyle.com.


Meanwhile, the online forums on deal spotting sites like GottaDeal.com are heating up. They're posting Cyber Monday deals as they get them, but have posted the following message to site visitors: Update: Cyber Monday pricing will actually be available online starting SUNDAY, 11/25 at 9pm CST.

Below are deals Web shoppers can expect to be greeted with on Cyber Monday, as reported by USA Today:

- Ice.com says it will give away a pair of diamond stud earrings to every 100th customer that day. It is offering a 20% discount to anyone who goes to a special page it has created for Cyber Monday.

- Shopadidas.com will give 25% off on all running and training apparel, which it says is a bigger offer than last year's.

- Figleaves.com, an online retailer of intimate apparel, will offer a 20% discount on its home page for its entire site. Last year, it only offered e-mail promotions to existing customers.

Cyber Monday money saving tips:

**Shop in the wee hours - Sunday Night at 11:59 p.m.
The Black Friday trick of shopping in the wee hours can also help you snare Cyber Monday deals starting at 11:59 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 25.

**Opt in for email deals.
If you're not already signed up to receive special deal saving emails from your favorite e-tailers, get signed up ASAP. Nearly a third of all online deals and promotions will include special email campaigns.