High Street retailers face a 'cut-throat Christmas'

IT will be a 'cut throat' Christmas for the retail trade, industry experts are already warning, as the high street fights fading consumer confidence.

Sales promotions will start sooner than usual and shops will try to make it easier than ever to make purchases via mobile phones, reckon the analysts.

The first official sign that the festive season will be a tough one came today in a trading update from the Character Group, the distributor of toys including Fireman Sam, Peppa Pig and Doctor Who figurines.

"The directors believe that for this Christmas season it is prudent to be conservative and to reduce the company's risk profile by tighter than usual stock control," says the statement.

Stuart Henderson of retail technology firm NCR said: "With a number of recent reports and figures highlighting a decline in UK consumer spend we look set for a ferociously competitive 'cut-throat' Christmas in retail. We expect to see retailers not only competing through early sales and promotions but also through putting big efforts into improving the 'consumer experience'. This will include offering cocktails and carols to entice us into shops but, more importantly, catering towards our changing shopping habits with a big emphasis on making it easier for consumers to shop using a combination of online, mobile and high street stores."

The latest sign of how retailers are faring comes on Wednesday when Next unveils its half-year results.

On Thursday, the Office for National Statistics reports the latest retail sales figures for the whole of the UK.