Stores are preparing themselves for a bleak Christmas as economic indicators show poor retail footfall and low consumer confidence. The British Retail Consortium said its retail sales monitor, produced with accountancy firm KPMG, showed sales “worryingly weak” as Christmas approaches, with October sales down 0.6% on a like-for-like basis against a year ago. Credit services firm Experian’s Footfall Retail Index showed a year-on-year decline of…