Sales are forecast to soar to more than£180 million, more than double the£82 million average for this year, according to the Interative Media in Retail Group (IMRG).
The peak online shopping hour will be between 1pm and 2pm, when goods worth a total of£14 million are expected to be bought, compared to an average of£4 million an hour in the 10 weeks leading up to Christmas.
IMRG chief executive officer James Roper said: 'The online shopping peak is pulled forward each Christmas by millions of people who rely on the internet for their key shopping items, and so shop early to have the best chance of goods being in stock and a successful delivery. Monday December 4 will be the biggest e-sales day of 2006.'
He added that more than a third of online shopping takes place outside of traditional shopping hours.
Multichannel retailer Argos also revealed that today will be its busiest for online sales - the retailer is expecting more than 1 million visits. The company's busiest shopping day last year was Monday December 5, when it achieved 808,000 hits on its site.
Argos's online turnover - including both direct and reservation sales - is now in excess of£750 million a year, with direct sales increasing by 35 per cent year on year.
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