Bermuda residents are continuing to spend more dollars on retail purchases overseas, as revealed in the latest retail sales index figures.

From a total of $97.5 million spent locally and overseas on goods and services, the amount spent off-Island jumped half-a-million dollars to $5.9 million compared with the same month a year ago.

That is a 9.6 percent rise on declared overseas purchases year-on-year.

Combined local and overseas retail sales were $700,000 higher than last September, with 6.1 percent of the total representing overseas spending, a slightly larger proportion of the total than the 5.6 percent recorded in 2006.

Spending for the month of September was boosted by clothes and furniture sales, despite a big drop in construction material sales.

Retail sales rose marginally by 0.2 percent, up $200,000 from the same period last year to $91.9 million, while the index stood at 102.3 index points.

But, overall, sales for the year slowed down from a 3.7 percent increase in August compared year-on-year to 2006 to 0.2 percent rise the following month.

The biggest contributors to the modest growth were the food, apparel and all other store types sectors, which were offset by declines experienced by the building materials sector and motor vehicle dealers.

After adjusting for the annual 'retail' rate of inflation, measured at 1.7 percent in September 2007, the volume of retail sales fell by 2.7 percent, reflecting an overall decrease in the total quantity of goods sold in the retail sector for the month.

Clothing retailers benefited the most from a month of steady trading, registering their ninth consecutive sales gain for the year, with gross revenue flows picking up 10.9 percent in September, following an 11.9 percent increase in August. This sales increase reflected the fifth month of double-digit gains for the industry in 2007.

The all other store types sector, which include furniture, appliances, electronics, pharmaceuticals and personal care supplies retailers, were not far behind though, seeing a 5.5 percent rise in revenues during the month, showing a strong sales activity reported by health and personal care product sellers who have expanded their lines and types of goods for sale.

But, one of the biggest areas to suffer was building material and hardware retailers, who reported a 23.4 percent sales drop in September, largely due to the disproportionate increase in spending last year as residents prepared for the arrival of Hurricane Florence. This is the second month in a row of double-digit declines for the sector this year.

New car sales also dropped off significantly as dealers recorded a six percent decrease in gross sales in September, mainly down to lower stock levels and weak consumer demand for vehicle models currently in their inventory.