The population of Bermuda is not large enough to support shops having a large inventory of goods, meaning people will want to import items they cannot find.

That is the view of some courier firms and comes after a plea to “shop local” and after reports that some stores had a quiet Christmas shopping season.

Bricen Hakeman, the chief executive of Mailboxes, said in terms of bringing in goods over the Christmas period, 2023 was on par with 2022.

He added: “There was no massive uptick. The main trend was that customers ordered later than last year.”

He said one of the main issues is that the island does not have a big enough population to support a high inventory.

“The biggest challenge is inventory management. There is not enough volume to give the selection people want,” said Mr Hakeman, who emphasised that Mailboxes is a Bermudian company, employing local people.

Still, Kevin Smith, managing director, IBC Bermuda Ltd, said there has been an increase in the purchasing.

He added: “We have seen, year after year, the volume of packages during the holiday season increase.”

He said the firm’s members take advantage of its no annual membership fees and no dimensional fees and, therefore, import large items such as TVs, ride-on toy cars and furniture.

“We encourage local purchases and support entrepreneurs and small businesses as much as possible. However, there will always be items not found or available in Bermuda. Thus, we are here to assist in these instances,” added Mr Smith who said the firm’s staff are 100 per cent Bermudian.

Before Christmas, Tamara Richardson, the chief executive of People’s Pharmacy, said there would be less available on island if shoppers continued to send their dollars directly overseas.

She added: “There is an importance to shopping locally, if Bermudians want to maintain local sources and supply of goods.”