Editor's Note: 5 Cross-Channel Retail Trends to Watch in 2012

While you’re probably in the middle of the busy holiday season right now, 2012 is closer than you think. As you begin to look forward to the year ahead, I’ve put together a list of predictions for what cross-channel retailers can expect come next year:

1. Omnichannel e-commerce takes hold. In the coming year, more retailers will be investing in building out their omnichannel strategies so they can accommodate (or continue to accommodate) their customers no matter what channel they choose to shop in. Most likely they’ll be choosing the web. eMarketer forecasts that U.S. retail e-commerce holiday sales (all retail e-commerce sales during November and December) will rise 16.8 percent this year to $46.7 billion.