More than two thirds of leading online retailers in the US have at least one domain suffix related to their brand name held by a cyber-squatter, new research has claimed.

The American E-commerce Brands report, produced by NetNames, revealed that fewer than half of all domains relating to major online retailers in the US have been registered by company officials.

This was demonstrated by the fact that more than one in four domains relating to these online retailers were occupied by cyber-squatters, and more than one in 20 were available for purchase on the open market.

Thirty-four of the top 50 online US retailers identified had left at least one domain relating to the brand unprotected which was now occupied by cyber-squatters.

The report also points to a "disturbing general disregard" for all domain suffixes apart from .com, which is registered by 98 per cent of online companies.

Other domain suffixes were not nearly so well protected, according to the report, which found that only 44 per cent of related .net and 32 per cent of .us domains were protected.

James Lambright, chief strategy officer at NetNames, said: "Considering that these retailers rely on e-commerce as a significant part of their business, it is alarming that so many do not seem concerned about one of the most vital elements of online brand protection.

"Not registering relevant domain names is the online equivalent of leaving your storefront open overnight."