"Lousy, lousy, lousy'', "challenging'' and "tough'' are just some of the ways embattled shop owners have described present market conditions in the retail sector in Bermuda.

A combination of recent bad weather, the weak US economy, falling numbers of visitors, the Internet and Bermudians shopping abroad more has knocked most shops in Hamilton sideways at the start of the season.

May is usually the beginning of the tourist season, when shops have traditionally start to see more money coming through their doors.

But it has not happened so far and shops have begun cutting prices early this year to lure shoppers into spending their hard-earned cash with sales of up to 50 percent off at Trimingham's.

The Tess Group had a 15 percent off at the English Sports Shop and other retailers are expected to follow suit.

"Local business is good, tourist business is weak,'' said David Hamshere, president of the Tess Group. "The season has started so much later this year.

The weather has been very unkind for us. People at the weekend were wearing sweaters -- we do not expect to see this on May 26. These elements have affected local business.'' But he said that the figures could turn around quickly with a good week of sales.

"We are optimistic, but one has got to face the fact that the Marriott Hotel is out of service and it will take a while to get back on track. The cruise ship passengers are not spending. Retail is tough.'' He added the introduction of duty free would not only boost business for retailers but bring in tourists.

"If we had duty free we would be a lot happier. Duty free has a tremendous cachet to it.'' And he called on the Government to come through with their election promise to help retailers.

Susan Bawn, general manager of Gibbons Co. Ltd., said the fall in visitor numbers did not particularly impact their store as they sold mainly to locals.

And she said the renovations that the store had been doing for the past two years were helping the shop compete.

"The feedback has been very positive. It helped last year and we hope it will help this year. But I think we have been looking at a very sluggish US economy. Everybody who has invested in the stock market has been affected by the poor performance of the markets.

"With this and a trend to buy abroad and on the Internet, retailers have to be compete and have sharper pricing and do everything we can.'' Pierre Dutoya, the general manager of Hornburg Calypso Ltd. which owns Voila, Calypso and Benetton said "everyone knows'' this is not going to be a good year for retail.

"This year is lousy, lousy, lousy,'' he said. "The weather is not good for shoppers and the level of tourism seems to be very low. The boat people have been spending even less than they were before.

"It is the beginning of the season. May is normally a very, very strong month and it is not at the level expected. This can change in one week. But it is reflecting the mood of the US economy. It is not bad, but it is slowing. On top of that nothing is being done to attract tourists.'' Roger Davidson, of H.A.& E. Smith, said the bad weather had not helped locals come out to shop and made them more likely to go abroad to buy.

"It is challenging. With the decline in tourism and Bermudians shopping abroad still on the rise ...all this makes it difficult for retailers.

"The problem is when you get long periods of bad weather, people here get fed up and takeoff. The Sonesta and the Southampton Princess which have indoor shopping are a long way off from Hamilton. Wind and rain are not good for business.'' He added that it was positive that deals had been done for Castle Harbour and Belmont, and there was talk of interest in the Lantana, which would bring in more top quality tourists.

But he also believes that Duty Free shopping would bring in more trade for Bermuda.

"American tourists like the idea and it has been a phenomenal success in places like St. Thomas and Curacao. Big ticket items like watches, jewellery and perfumes are a big hit. You could market the Island as a package.'' Retailers `lousy' start Stuart Joblin, owner of Makin' Waves on Front Street said that his store had been keeping its head above water for the season.

He said that last May his store had a very good year, and that they were not expecting to do as well this year.

"It's OK, but it's not as strong as last year. It is nothing fantastic, but we are holding our own.'' He said the bad weather had impacted hard on them as they were a summer store -- and six days of bad weather in a holiday weekend was particularly bad.

"To sum up, it could be better but it might get worse. But we try to be optimistic.''