The amount of goods sold by retailers fell in January by 1 percent, with clothes stores one of the hardest hit on the Island, according to figures in the Retail Sales Index released yesterday by Government.

The total volume of retail sales rose moderately during January, recovering after a slight dip in December 2001.

But 80 percent of "apparel" stores, that sell clothes and accessories, saw sales below those last year, hitting both tourist and domestic market shops.

"The drop in the number of visitors to the Island, combined with downsizing and lower inventory levels impacted significantly on the volume of retail activity during the month," said the release from the Statistics Department which showed that stores that sell clothes and accessories saw their sales fall by 12 percent. During January 2002, the retail sales index stood at 1006.3 points during January, recording a 1.2 percent increase in sales levels compared to the same month a year before.

But after adjusting for inflation of 2.3 percent in January, when there were the same number of shopping days, 25, as the year before, the total volume of retail sales fell by 1 percent.

Gross turnover in the retail industry was estimated at $35.2 million, compared to $34.7 million in January 2001 and $55.4 million in December 2001.

In comparison to the steep decline in retail sales for clothes, spending in the hardware and building supplies sector shot up.

This sector showed the strongest increase in sales for the month of January, rising 20.1 percent above the previous year's level.

A fall in the cost of gas in January also caused a dip in the "service station sector", which fell by 7 percent below the previous year's level. The dip was due to the lower world market prices per barrel of oil, which pushed down the price at the pump.

Sales of cars and bikes rose marginally, by 2.3 percent as car dealers reported mixed sales due to changes in their current levels of stock as some models were discontinued. The amount of money brought in the "all other store types" sector fell by 3.2 percent.