Shop owners had little to cheer about on the sales front in May of this year with retail spending falling 0.1 percent over last year, figures released yesterday showed.

Bermuda Retail Sales Index (RSI) figures, compiled monthly by Government, showed that shoppers spent 3.2 percent more in May of this year over last year - turnover improved from $45.9 million in May, 2002 to $47.4 million this year - but after factoring in inflation (3.3 percent in May, 2003) the real value of shoppers' dollars was down by 0.1 percent over the same period last year.

The level of overseas spending was also down from the previous year with the value of goods declared by returning residents in May, 2003 standing at $3.21 million compared to $3.32 million last year - a drop of 3.3 percent year-over-year.

Chamber of commerce president Charles Gosling said, in general, retailers had been “very disappointed” with the way sales were going this year.

Mr. Gosling, who is also vice-president of marketing for liquor retailer Gosling Bros., said yesterday: “I have spoken with a number of retailers, including some of the Front Street retailers, and they are very disappointed. They are not seeing the sales they had hoped for.”

During the month of May some sectors did see marginal increases in the volume of sales with the liquor and apparel sectors seeing a 10.1 percent and 4.7 percent gain year-over year respectively.

On the liquor front however, retailers were unlikely to see much of that gain fall to the bottom line with Mr. Gosling pointing out that the actual price of certain types of liquor had gone up.

In particular, Mr. Gosling said the cost of certain beers had jumped because they were sourced from Europe where the Euro currency had gone up as much as 20 to 25 percent since late last year.

This meant that while consumers may be paying more at the liquor counter, the shop itself may not have seen any real gain.

A brighter picture was painted by at least one retailer with A.S. Cooper's reporting that sales were up in May which was due primarily to the Front Street retailer's opening of two branch shops.

Operations manager Somers Cooper said: “We did enjoy an increase in business in May which we attributed to the opening of our new men's store on Front Street and our new Island Shop in the lower lobby of the Southampton Princess.”

In total Mr. Cooper said all of A.S. Cooper's branch stores - in addition to A.S. Cooper's on Front and Reid Street, the company has eight smaller outlets across the Island - had seen strong sales during the month.

Across other sectors, RSI said gross revenue flows had risen 3.5 percent and in the area of big-ticket items such as home appliances, entertainment equipment and furniture were in strong demand with combined sales increasing 9.9 percent over the same time last year.

Grocery stores registered a marginal increase in revenue with the sum total of receipts rising three percent. On the construction side, sales of building materials were up by 2.3 percent but petrol sales at the Island's service stations were off by 0.2 percent over the same time last year. Motor vehicle sales also slipped 1.2 percent over May, 2002.