You may want to check out the Web sites of your favorite retailers Monday, even if you don't do a lot of shopping online.

That's because Monday is Cyber Monday -- the official start of the online shopping season. It's a day when retailers will be offering up some of their best deals of the season.

And this time around, the promotions could be even better than ever.

Retailers are counting on online shoppers to help prop up what's expected to be one of the toughest holiday shopping seasons in decades amid the nation's economic crisis. In some cases, retailers are saving some of their best deals for Web shoppers, and with the array of free-shipping offers and other Web-only promotions being offered, buying online almost can't be beat.

"Cyber Monday is just awesome," said Denise Price of Magna, who tracks deals at traditional and online retailers and posts them to her Web site, www.stretchthatdollar.com.

Price, a Tribune Money Matters panelist who is consulted for advice to readers from time to time, said she wouldn't miss being online Monday because of all the freebies and extra discounts offered that day -- especially this year when retailers seem to be upping the deals to lure shoppers.

In fact, nearly 84 percent of retailers plan to offer some type of promotion on Cyber Monday, up from a little more than 72 percent last year, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation's Shop.org. Cyber Monday promotions are designed to cater to a wide range of consumers this year -- not just the office workers who started the trend years ago by taking advantage of high-speed Internet connections to log on to the Internet and shop at their desks the Monday after Thanksgiving.

According to the federation's survey, nearly 56 percent of workers with Internet access -- nearly 73 million people -- will do some holiday shopping on Monday. That's up from just under 45 percent three years ago. Scores more will log on from home.

What can shoppers expect on Monday?

Many retailers will roll out some of their best -- if not their best -- promotions ever.

Overstock.com is offering free shipping Monday. Additionally, customers who pay via Paypal get a 15 percent rebate on all purchases. So, those who spend, say, $200 will get $30 back in their Paypal accounts, and their purchases will ship for free, said Patrick Byrne, Overstock.com CEO.

The promotion offers a significantly deeper discount to customers than on Cyber Monday last year, which did not feature free shipping on all purchases nor such a large rebate.

"Our [site] traffic is up from last year, but people aren't buying as much," he said. "That tells me that they are counting their pennies and that they are trying to get the best bargains they can."

Although shopping online is never expected to replace shopping in stores, the share of people who do at least some of their shopping on the Web is expected to continue to climb. Analysts say there are a number of reasons for the trend, including the growing use of technology, the gas savings of not having to drive around and the ability to avoid crowded shopping situations. Prices are comparable online to shopping in stores, and in a number of cases, the prices are even better than in brick-and-mortar environs.

For some shoppers, there are yet other advantages.

Salt Lake Tribune Money Matters panelist Erin Renouf Mylroie of St. George said she likes that many online retailers keep records of toy purchases and alert consumers to recalls, should they happen in the future.

She said Amazon.com even sent her an e-mail once informing her that a toy she had purchased for her son almost two years earlier had been recalled. She returned the toy, and the retailer gave her a credit for the original purchase price.

"I never would have known that the toy had been recalled had they not told me." And the timing could not have been better because she used the credit to buy a birthday present for her son.

Mylroie estimates that at least three-quarters of her holiday-related purchases will be done online this year because the prices are so good, and there's plenty of free shipping offers.

Especially appealing to shoppers such as Money Matters panelist Gina Campbell of Murray is that some promotions can be combined, leading to even bigger savings. She signed up on the Eddie Bauer site for e-mails and recently was alerted to a promotion in which she not only received 20 percent off her purchase but free shipping, as well.

lesley@sltrib.com