Retailers saw their sales fall by 3.2 percent in December - their most important month of the year - compared to 2009.After inflation was taken into account, retail sales volume fell 5.6 percent in the traditional peak shopping month, figures released yesterday in the Department of Statistics’ Retail Sales Index showed.For the retail sector, the disappointing December rounds off another dismal year, in which sales at local outlets fell five percent compared to 2009, to $1.04 billion from $1.1 billion.It was also the 32nd consecutive month in which the sector has seen a sales volume decline, in real terms. The building materials and motor vehicles sectors suffered the worst percentage declines.Kristi Grayston, who chairs the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce’s Retail Division, described the latest numbers as “scary” and urged the community to support a sector that is a significant employer of Bermudians.Local retail sales totalled an estimated $106.6 million during December 2010, $3.5 million less than in December 2009.Overseas purchases declared by residents returning to the Island from business and vacation trips totalled $8 million, an increase of 1.3 percent above 2009 levels. Combined local and overseas spending fell by 2.9 per cent to $114.6 million during the month.Ms Grayston felt the chronic sales decline was due to a combination of factors, including an apparent fall in the population and a desire to spend less during the downturn. But she was particularly concerned about the growth in overseas purchases and a large area of purchasing that did not show up in the RSI.“The overseas purchases show only what people declared at the airport and not what they bought online from abroad, or what they had shipped to the Island,” Ms Grayston said.If the decline trend did not reverse at some point, “it does not take a rocket scientist to realise what will happen”, she added.“Retail needs to be supported by its community,” Ms Grayston said. “Obviously everybody shops overseas sometimes - that’s why we have shops in Bermuda geared to tourists, because we expect them to spend here.“The Internet has made shopping overseas much easier. But if you are earning in one community and spending your money in another, then you are hurting your community.”Most retailers did their job because they loved it, Ms Grayston said, but if they were just scraping by, close to break-even point, year after year, then they would not be able to carry on indefinitely.“Retail is more important to the economy than most people realise,” Ms Grayston said. “We are a 100 percent Bermudian employer and without its retailers and restaurants, Bermuda would not be an attractive place for international business or tourists.”The dramatic slowdown in the construction industry was evident in the results for the building materials and hardware supplies sector, which suffered a 24.4 percent year-on-year sales decline in December, the 11th consecutive month it has recorded a double-digit fall. The RSI commentary said the sector’s sales level was at an all-time low of 43.7, with 100 representing average 2006 levels.The motor vehicles sector saw negative sales growth for a ninth month in a row, falling 15.8 percent year on year in December.The apparel sector, however, managed to hold its own and achieved 0.2 percent growth compared to 2009. This was despite the fact that apparel made up approximately half of the $8 million of goods bought overseas and declared at the airport by returning residents.Service stations reported a 2.3 percent growth in December, attributed partly to 7.2 percent in the price of gasoline over the same period.Food sales also grew by 0.6 percent, by less than the 2.4 percent rise in food prices over the year, indicating that the volume of food purchased declined. Liquor sales fell three percent compared to December 2009.