Early evening shopping in Bermuda started this week in a battle to win back shoppers who are increasingly buying items overseas rather than at local stores.

The commencement of late night shopping on Tuesday comes as evidence shows that many Bermuda residents are choosing to shop overseas, either while on trips and vacations or by placing order for goods to be shipped to the Island.

Retail sales figures released yesterday show a 12.5 percent jump in the value of items bought during overseas trips in April compared with the same month last year.

And it is believed that figure of $6.3 million is only a portion of a much larger sum of money being spent buying goods that are shipped by courier or through the mail and do not feature in the monthly statistics, which only register overseas purchases declared at airport customs.

The Chamber of Commerce is leading the fight back to strengthen the Island's retail environment by encouraging shoppers through later opening hours. Early evening shopping is also a response to a call from Premier Ewart Brown.

When Dr. Brown spoke to the Chamber at its annual meeting, he called for retailers to lift their game and open later for the benefit of residents and overseas visitors who are often stunned to find shops closed so early in Bermuda, typically around 5.30 p.m. As from this week many of the Chamber's retail members are keeping their shop doors open until 7 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays and until 9 p.m. on Wednesdays.

And by the end of June a revamped "Buy Bermuda" campaign will be up and running, said Kristi Grayston, co-chair of the chamber's retail division.

Reacting to the latest retail sales index report, which shows a 12.5 percent increase in overseas purchases by Bermuda residents, she said: "That figure does not include what people buy and have shipped to the Island through courier or the post office. There is a huge unseen figure there. There is a good reason why you see so many adverts by companies that import goods."

The Chamber has explained these concerns to Government and is seeking to have the single-figure import tax tariff that individuals pay when they have goods shipped to Bermuda increased to the flat 25 percent rate that is levied at airport customs.

They want the unseen privately shipped overseas purchases included in the monthly retail sales index to give a truer picture of the state of the Island's spending habits.

After a difficult financial spell the Chamber is now on target to relaunch the Buy Bermuda campaign at the end of June to encourage shoppers to buy on-Island rather than overseas on trips or through the internet and catalogue purchasing.

Early evening shopping in Hamilton will run throughout June, July and August.

The initiative is being undertaken without any Government assistance.