Research was conducted by online marketing specialist Global Media. The firm said that no major high-street retailer's name ranked in the top five natural listings when search terms, such as "Christmas gift", "iPod" and "Xbox", were entered, and that some big brands ranked outside the top 150 positions for these terms.
Neil McKay, Global Media's managing director, said: "Some retailers will have an e-plan in place to maximise online Christmas revenue, but our research shows there is still work to be done to drive online shoppers to their sites.
"However there is no time to lose if retailers -- whatever their size -- want to take their share of the pre-Christmas spend. We'd urge them to act now and implement various online marketing campaigns that will ensure a fast return on investment such as pay-per-click.
"The e-shopper will not waste time scrolling through pages of suppliers to find what they're looking for, so retailers should take effective measures right now to ensure they reap the rewards of the pre-Christmas period."
Global Media was founded in 1996 and has offices in Manchester, London, Paris, Oslo, Seoul, Milan and Moscow. Its headquarters are in Oslo.
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