Cyber Monday may get purses open after 'Bleak' Friday

The second shopping extravaganza is nearly here, only without the lengthy queues and mad scramble at the checkouts.

Cyber Monday started in America in 2005 but has become popular on this side of the pond in the last three years as a day when online retailers offer heavily discounted deals on gadgets and many other items.

While Black Friday has become the biggest sales day of the year in the UK, many savvy shoppers save their pennies for the Monday after – where cut price deals can be nabbed from the comfort of your own home.

• Amazon has new offers available every hour. The best deals already announced include: 16MP Panasonic Lumix Camera - £549 down from £999; Toshiba Encore Mini Tablet – 25 per cent off; and Accurist Men’s Quartz watch – £49.99 down from £125; Silver Amethyst/Cubic Zirconia Fancy Pendant and Earring Set - £18.25 from £84.

• Currys will unveil a raft of savings on appliances, white goods and electronics on Monday. Items already discounted include: Samsung Fridge Freezer - £599.99 down to £399.99; HP Pavilion laptop - £499 down to £349; Samsung Smart 24” LED TV monitor - £309.99 down to £149.

• Zavvi has cut price deals online throughout the weekend and into Cyber Monday. They include games, films, games consoles and accessories. Some of the featured deals already online are: Nintendo 2DS Blue and Black console with Super Mario Bros 2 for £108.99, a reduction of £60.99; 500GB Xbox One with four games (FIFA 16, Halo 5, Forza 6 and Rise of the Tomb Raider) for £309.99, a saving of £144.97.

• Argos has urged customers to register for in-store collection when ordering online to get fastest access to the best deals. Last year the retailer saw more than 3.6m visits to its website on Cyber Monday. This year’s deals include: iPad Mini with Wifi and £30 Argos voucher £179.99 down from £249.99; and Sony 40" Full HD Freeview HD LED TV £200 off at £299.99 plus a £10 gift voucher.

• John Lewis has promised to honour its ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’ commitment through Cyber Monday and will be matching prices from other retailers. Top deals include: Nike+ SportWatch Powered by TomTom GPS with Shoe Sensor, down from £149 to £99; and up to 50 per cent off a host of menswear ranges.

• Halfords is offering huge savings on cycles and accessories on Monday. Among the deals available online are: Apollo Cherry Lane Girls Bike - was £179.99, now £70; 52 piece aluminium tool set - £25 from £80.

And this year it is expected to be the biggest one yet by some stretch, with experts predicting that £943 million will be spent, up 31 per cent on 2014.

Retailers are predicting a whopping 125 million hits on their websites on Monday.

Last year, the online rush was so manic at certain times of the day that numerous retailers' websites crashed.

Although this year Black Friday and Cyber Monday have merged into one long weekend of sales, many retailers will keep their best deals under wraps until Cyber Monday.

They include Amazon, which has been offering deals since last Monday but kept hundreds of items back specifically for Cyber Monday. The retailer's eight warehouses, including one in Rugeley, have taken in extra stock to cope with demand.

Most major online stores start offering deals at midnight and continually launch newly discounted items over the course of 24 hours.

Experts have warned shoppers to take extra care when ordering online after a 42 per cent increase in online fraud during November and December last year.

Internet security awareness organisation Get Safe Online (GSO) say Cyber Monday is a key date for fraudsters.

They say shoppers should stick to trusted websites and be wary of accessing online links that could lead to scam sites.

As you'd expect with Cyber Monday, the emphasis is on electrical items such as laptops, games consoles, tablets and mobile phones.

But pretty much anything is up for grabs, including furniture and fashion items.