Retailers gear up for Cyber Monday

Almost three-quarters of Internet retailers will offer special deals on Cyber Monday to kick off the holiday online shopping season, a National Retail Federation survey out today shows.

The survey of 116 retailers found 72% plan special offers. Only 43% featured similar offers two years ago, when the Monday after Thanksgiving was dubbed Cyber Monday.

"It began in 2005, and it caught some people by surprise," says Scott Silverman, executive director of NRF's Shop.org, which released the study. "Last year some online retailers were still on the sidelines, but I think all the doubts are gone."

Shoppers -- often scouring the Internet from office computers during lunch breaks or when they're supposed to be working -- are getting wise about looking for great deals.

Gifts.com, which provides information about online sales, says its Cyber Monday visitors more than tripled last year from 2005.

Next Monday, about a ...