As Christmas approaches, retailers are looking forward to increased sales from shoppers during the holiday season.

However, a recent study by Verdict and SAS UK retail analysts, retailers need to make sure they have a multichannel strategy to see maximum profits.

Retail analysts say that retailers offering ecommerce options via mobile, tablets and social media will help drive more shoppers to the high street and increase sales.

online shopping

"The harsh reality is that those major retailers we’ve seen close down were those that failed to fully embrace the online and digital world," said Eric Abensur, group CEO at Venda.

"UK retailers need to seize every opportunity to convert Christmas shoppers into customers, not just browsers. This means supporting their customers shopping journeys through a multichannel ecommerce strategy during the peak Christmas fortnight. Rather than ecommerce damaging high street stores, new technological innovations will be the saviour of town centre shopping."

The research suggests that the most successful retailers on Cyber Monday will be the ones who offer mobile and social options for their shoppers.

"Cyber Monday on December 3 will mark the start of a very busy festive period for stores," added Abensur. "Despite the tough economic times shoppers won’t spend less this Christmas but they will spend differently. Spending this year will be more fragmented than ever: divided between the High Street, desktopshopping, mobile, tablets and social media platforms, as shoppers look to grab the best deals."