Bermudians have been called on by one of the Island's biggest department stores to dig deep and support their local economy in a bid to arrest the latest series of alarming retail sales figures.

Retailers suffered more misery as the retail sales volume of sales, after taking the rate of inflation into account, fell 8.6 percent during May 2009, according to the latest statistics released by Government.

The Department of Statistics' Retail Sales Index revealed that the sales volume declined for the 13th consecutive month and endured their second biggest drop over the period - the largest being 11 percent in February 2009.

Clothing stores were hardest hit, with the sector declining for the 11th straight month, with gross revenue sales falling by 16.8 percent in May following a 16 percent drop in April as customers tightened their purse strings. But Paula Clarke, CEO of Gibbons Company Ltd., believes they need to be doing exactly the opposite and spending their disposable income to boost the Island's economy.

"I think that the residents of Bermuda have to be more conscious of keeping the Bermuda economy strong by shopping Bermuda and, if they do have disposable income, to be putting it back into the local economy and not taking it overseas," she said.

Ms Clarke said that since the global economy took a big hit in September 2008, retail sales had suffered the knock-on effect, and despite a slight recovery before Christmas, this trend had continued with much lighter foot traffic through the stores.

"I think it is a combination that people are still very concerned and there is definitely a downturn in tourist business and I think it affects everybody in Bermuda in all the services," she said.

Despite seeing a number of job losses throughout most industries in Bermuda on a regular basis over the past few weeks, Ms Clarke was upbeat about the situation and said her company was striving to be imaginative and creative about what it offered to its customers in terms of value for money and in overcoming the downturn.

She also reckons that Gibbons' prices are very competitive compared to its US rivals in this tough economic environment and was concerned that so many of the Island's dollars were still going overseas.

"I do feel our merchandise is the same price and sometimes better value and price as in the US, but I still find it distressing that overseas spending continued to increase as it did in May," she said.

"We need to support local business because it affects everything from the goods coming through the docks in the form of the dock workers to taxi drivers and even the building industry."

In the Retail Sales Index, service stations also reported their sixth month in a row of double-digit declines in year-over-year sales as fuel pump sales fell by 16.4 percent, due to a 16.8 percent drop in the cost of premium and mixed fuel.

Similarly, the motor vehicle sector experienced a 12.7 percent fall in sales revenue in May 2009 following an increase of 0.5 percent the previous month. The decline was attributed to lower stock levels and weak consumer demand for vehicle models currently in inventory.

Consumers spent 8.5 percent less on building materials and hardware supplies in May, reflecting the gradually declining construction industry, with expenditure abating in 10 out of the past 12 months.

But gross receipts for food stores continued to rise since the start of 2007, up by 3.5 percent in May compared to the same month last year, largely down to the seven percent increase in food prices.

The all other stores types sector also recorded a drop in sales revenue of 6.7 percent as consumers spent significantly less on household goods and miscellaneous items of 12.6 percent and 17.4 percent respectively.

Among other items, sales of pharmaceutical products increased by 6.3 percent, while marine supplies sales rose by 17.4 percent versus the same period in 2008.

Meanwhile residents returning to the Island from business and holiday trips declared $7.3 million in goods bought overseas, $500,000 or eight percent above the previous year.