Consumers will spend 21% more online this holiday season than they did in 2006.

As more people rely on the Internet for holiday shopping, retailers have stepped up their game to compete. This year, promotions on Cyber Monday are extremely competitive as online retailers use an assortment of one-day specials to send shoppers online.

Not surprisingly, one of the main reasons consumers shop online is the convenience. According to a Nielsen Online survey of nearly 1,000 respondents, 81% said the convenience of shopping whenever they wanted was the main reason they chose to shop online over the holidays, while 77% said they shopped online because it saved time. About 46% of consumers said they shopped online for lower prices.

Experts offer these tips to online shoppers.

1. Sign up for e-mail newsletters and price alerts so you can get the best deals and sometimes exclusive discounts.
2. Log onto comparison shopping search engines.
3. Shop early at sites that post new deals at 6:30 a.m.
4. Do some research and shop only at trusted online retailers.

Trend

Better user reviews

New sites that gather reviews from all over the Web are making it a lot easier to get a good read on what other people think of a product, be it a camera or a pair of slippers.

Another development is how brutally honest user reviews have become–even on retailers’ own sites. Ouch. Why would retailers let customers diss their merchandise?

Research shows that consumers prefer sites that have customer reviews and ratings, and that reviews build a sense of community and enhance customer loyalty. All that ultimately translates into higher sales.