The outlook is bleak for the 2009 retail industry.

Two major British high street retailers have announced a fall in sales over the Christmas season.

Clothing firm Next suffered a 7% drop in sales in the six months to 24 December. Despite the fall, the retailer noted a positive start to its sale.

Debenhams has also witnessed a decline in figures – in the past 12 weeks sales have dropped by 3.3%.

Both retailers reflected on the statistics with some optimism.

Rob Templeman, Chief Executive of Debenhams, said: “Our trading strategy for the first 18 weeks of the year has resulted in further market share gains and a creditable sales performance given the extremely difficult and volatile conditions seen across the high street.”

Next stated that “like for like sales were within the guidance range of -4.0% to -7.0% …despite a worsening consumer environment.”

Both Next and Debenhams have been offering up to 70% off items in stores during the seasonal sales.

The consumer market is expected to get even worse in 2009 and retailers are bracing themselves for yet another difficult year.

Templeman said: “Looking forward, the trading environment is likely to remain challenging for the whole retail sector.”

John Lovering, Chairman of Debenhams, added: “We will continue to take all the necessary steps to ensure that Debenhams emerges from the challenging and competitive conditions in 2009.”