Island retailers had a miserable Christmas according to the latest figures, with sales for December 2013 falling short of previous years.

According to Government’s Department of Statistics, the Retail Sales Index fell 2.2 percent in December, with consumers spending an estimated $101.5 million on goods during the month. After adjusting for inflation, the volume of retail sales decreased by 3.4 percent compared to December 2012.

The figure means that sales have fallen consecutively for the last five Decembers. In December 2008 stores recorded $125.9 million in sales.

Car dealerships reported the biggest declines, with sector sales dropping 10.8 percent on a year ago.

Food and liquor stores dipped slightly — by 0.9 percent — although liquor stores reported a 5.7 drop in gross receipts.

And sales of clothing dropped significantly. Retailers attributed the 7.5 percent decline in part to a shift in the timing of sales events, which took place in November last year and in December in 2012.

Gas stations reported a 4.8 decline in sales, caused by a 3.6 percent drop in fuel prices.

But sales of building materials increased for the second consecutive month — by 2.4 percent compared to December 2012.

Sales of other goods — including furniture, appliances, electronics and tourism-related products — recorded an increase of 0.9 percent.

And the figures suggest that shoppers are still choosing to look outside Bermuda when making purchases. Residents declared $7.5 million in overseas purchases — up 1.4 percent on December 2012. Higher outlays on clothing and footwear were largely responsible for the increase.