E-retailers will offer special promotions on the Monday after Thanksgiving

In anticipation of a surge in sales on Cyber Monday-a term coined this year by the National Retail Federation for the Monday after Thanksgiving-43% of online merchants are planning to offer special promotions and discounts on that day, according to the Shop.org/BizRate Research 2005 e Holiday Mood Study.

In addition, 36% of retailers in the study said they plan to offer special promotions and sales on Thanksgiving Day, with some planning to offer their Friday-after-Thanksgiving discounts a day early on their web sites.

77% of merchants in the study said their sales increased substantially last year on the Monday following Thanksgiving, and online retailers say they expect to see similar increases this year, according to the study.

57% of the online retailers said they expect holiday sales to increase by 30% or more compared to last year, while one in five said they expect sales to grow by 75% or more, Shop.org found.

BizRate Research surveyed 119 online retailers, all members of trade group Shop.org.