Online Retailers Ramp Up Cyber Monday

Could the Internet help lift consumer spending this holiday season?

With storm clouds still gathering over the U.S. economy, online retailers are pulling out all the stops for Cyber Monday, which marks the start of the official online holiday shopping period.

Almost 84% of online retailers will have a special promotion for Cyber Monday, according to National Retail Federation (NRF) research, up from 72% last year, underlining nervousness about the state of consumer spending.

Despite an increasingly gloomy retail outlook, the Internet may offer some bright spots for the holiday, according to Youssef Squali, an analyst at Jefferies & Company.

"While consumers are shopping less, their reliance on online (search) for product education and competitive shopping is growing," he wrote, in a note released Wednesday. The analyst pointed to 20% growth in U.S. online search volumes during October as evidence that the Internet will prove crucial in the 2008 holiday season.

Cyber Monday, which is the first Monday after Thanksgiving weekend and Black Friday, has even become something of a misnomer this year as retailers attempt to get a jump on the competition.

Amazon's Black Friday Deals Page, for example, went live Tuesday, and Best Buy(BBY) launched the online version of its "Doorbuster" special on Thanksgiving, the day before its actual stores opened. Internet auction site eBay is running its own "Holiday Doorbusters" promotion for a total of 15 days, ending Dec. 8.

"Next week's e-commerce data for Black Friday and Cyber Monday will be critical for e-commerce names including eBay, Amazon, and ShutterFly," Squali said.