Late Christmas shopping spree may not save retailers Analysts at UBS warned that clothing retailers "look to have pressed the panic button" by offering discounts of up to 60pc. It said that M&S is "on the right track" but is suffering from the general malaise on the high street. Clothing retailers are battling against subdued consumer confidence but also a milder-than-average autumn that has left shops nursing piles of unsold coats and jumpers. New data from Springboard shows that footfall on UK high streets was 2pc lower last week than a year earlier, with shopping centre footfall down 2.3pc. However, week-on-week footfall increased by 0.4pc on high streets and 5.5pc at shopping centres. Jonathan Pritchard, analyst at Oriel Securities, said: "Life is clearly very tough at present for the clothiers. The weather has been decidedly unhelpful and already most high street stores are discounting heavily, and more than last year. We expect that ultimately the disappointments will come on gross margins rather than sales. Mr Pritchard also warned that 2014 could be tough for retailers. Consumer confidence may return, the pressure on real wages may ease, changed tax thresholds are a positive, and Help to Buy will undoubtedly be of assistance. On the flip side, food price inflation continues to be a factor and utility prices are rising too. So we are far from convinced that any increases in consumer confidence in 2014 will be sufficient to give turnovers the boost they need to aid operational gearing and deliver forecasts.