Overseas shopping continues to bite into profits of local retailers in spite of efforts to pump up sales.

Sales figures for September remain flat as the volume of retail sales are virtually identical compared with last year.

"It was not a very good September,'' said a Government statistician commenting on the Retail Sales Index released by Government yesterday.

"Retail sales mirror what is happening in tourism. Earlier in the year when visitors numbers were up, retail figures were healthier.'' But the news is frustrating for retailers who have tried to stimulate business through sales and late-night shopping.

"It continues to be disappointing,'' said president of the Chamber of Commerce Mr. Bobby Rego. "It is especially disappointing that the figures continue to stay flat in spite of additional sales and incentive shopping.'' September's figures showed a 0.9 percent drop since last year but a 14 percent increase in overseas shopping.

With $2.38 million worth of goods declared in September, the cumulative total of resident spending abroad in 1994 reached 18.14 million.

Local retailers confirmed the bad news.

"It's been a tough year,'' said Mr. Peter Cooper of A.S. Coopers. "Our sales were level compared with last year. Taking inflation into consideration, we're down. It's disappointing.'' He admitted overseas spending did have a negative impact on local retailers.

Mr. Douglas Patterson, co-owner of Makin' Waves, said the store's sales were up in 1994 because of a good summer. But he agreed overseas spending was bound to affect sales locally.

"I don't know what the solution is because our standard of living is so high.

There is no way we can sell at US store prices. We can't compete right off the bat,'' he said yesterday.

"It should be a concern for everyone. For a community our size the choice here is great but if people don't support the local market, it will just spiral down and there will be fewer products to choose from.'' He said furniture and appliance stores are hit worse than clothing outlets because of the vast difference between US and local prices.

But Mr. Rego said more strenuous efforts by Customs could be encouraging residents to be more honest in declaring their purchases.

The index showed all sectors of the Index experienced modest gains in sales revenue with the exception of the food sector where gross receipts fell below the level reached in September 1993.

Liquor stores showed an annual increase of 2.8 percent while motor vehicle sales increased by 5.4 percent.

And the seasonal slow-down after the summer was more pronounced this year with a drop of nine percent compared to three percent last year, the statistics showed.