Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has announced that it will launch its online "Cyber Monday" deals from 12.01 a.m. EST on Friday, much earlier than last year's Sunday evening.

The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer said late on Sunday that it is looking to lure more shoppers during the Thanksgiving shopping season. Wal-Mart's Thanksgiving offers will be available online at 12:01 a.m. EST, three hours earlier than last year. The turkey feast deals at its stores will, however, begin at 6 p.m. just as last year.

Online shopping zooms to its peak on Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving. Boosted by the advent and popularity of smartphones and high-speed Internet, Cyber Monday has probably become the busiest online shopping day of the year now. Wal-Mart has thus joined the swelling band of U.S. retailers, who promotes online sales in a big way during the Thanksgiving season.

Wal-Mart has increased its online inventory by more than half. It now has 23 million items in its online stocks, nearly three times what it had last year. Its online sales grew by 20.6 percent in the third quarter this year, much more than its 11.8 percent in the earlier quarter.  Wal-Mart said online orders picked up in stores by rose 75 percent in the first half of November, compared to the same period last year.

Cyber Monday sales promotion is emulating the selling drive of Black Friday, which is the big day for brick-and-mortar retailers. The deals for Black Friday have been offered much earlier in the past few years. The Cyber Monday online promotion is using a similar strategy.

The November-December shopping season is vital for retailers as it accounts for more than a fourth of their annual sales. According to reliable estimates, online spending on Cyber Monday will surge from last year's $3.12 billion to $3.5 billion this year. Holiday online sales is set to rise by 19 percent to $81 billion.

[Photo by Mike Mozart/CC BY 2.0]