Retail sales for June of this year showed a 1.6 percent drop below the $90.1 million recorded in June of 2013, according to the Department of Statistics.

Sales of liquor and motor vehicles bucked the trend: the sale of alcohol rose 1.8 percent, partly attributed to a 1.6 percent increase in prices, while motor retailers showed the strongest rise of 32 percent.

Building material stores reported a sharp decline in sales, down 10.5 percent, reflecting the drop in demand for home renovations and the depressed market for major commercial construction projects.

Boat and marine retail dropped 12.5 percent and sales of furniture, appliances and electronics were down nine percent.

Meanwhile, residents declared $4.3 million in overseas purchases for the month — down 4.4 percent on the previous year — leading to a combined spending of $93 million.

There were 24 shopping days for the month of June — the same as the year previously — but there was one less weekend shopping day in the month.