June is washing out all over

“I just want to go back to the hotel room and sleep,’’ said Wallace, 19. “If it doesn’t [let up], goodbye, Newbury.’’

It’s summertime, and the living is soggy. Yesterday was the 14th day of precipitation this month, and the near-constant drizzle has taken a toll on everybody. From Faneuil Hall to Downtown Crossing to Newbury Street, restaurant and store owners, already pummeled by the economic slowdown, gazed at sheets of relentless rain and said the lousy weather is just the latest sucker punch.

At the boutique Poor Little Rich Girl on Newbury Street, a green rain jacket on a sturdy stand stood out front, calling shoppers to the storefront. “It’s the only thing that gets people in here these days,’’ said employee Carrigan Denny-Brown, looking around at the empty clothing store. “It’s ridiculous.’’

Just down the street, rain-slicked outdoor tables sat empty while women with drenched hair sipped coffee inside. Pedestrians with wet pant legs struggled with umbrellas. Even dogs wore raincoats.

Linda DeMarco, who runs four pushcarts around Boston that sell pretzels and lemonade, blames the rain for knocking 20 percent off her business in recent weeks. “I have six employees sitting around and doing nothing right now,’’ DeMarco said yesterday. “This weather is the last thing we needed.’’

On paper, the weather hasn’t been as miserable as it feels. Rainfall so far this month, a little more than 2 inches, is close to average for June, according to the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Taunton. What is wreaking havoc on sales and dispositions is that there has been at least some precipitation - even if only a drizzle - falling on what feels like an unending string of days. That, combined with an average temperature that’s been 4.3 degrees below normal for the month, has made summer - which officially arrived on Sunday - feel more like early spring.

Would-be consumers who were already holding off on spending for seasonal items because of the economy are delaying even longer because summer just won’t start, said Paul Walsh, managing principal of the weather-analysis company G2 Weather Intelligence.

For some businesses, the stakes are especially high. Peter Blake, Jamaica Plain Car Wash general manager, cut hours for employees last year, and would rather not slash any further, but the foul weather is making it tough. “It’s just horrible,’’ Blake said. “We lose a lot of business when it rains on the weekend. And you never get it back.’’

Some businesses are getting creative, deciding they’ll brave the weather if the customers won’t. At the cafe Blunch, in the South End, owner Nikki Christo decided to hire a delivery person to reach her regulars at the nearby Boston Medical Center, where rain-shy workers have been hunkering down for lunch at their own cafeteria. She figured if people weren’t coming to her for lunch, she’d take her pressed sandwiches and homemade soups to them.

Others are falling back on tried-and-true traffic generators. At Geoclassics, a Faneuil Hall gift shop, owner Claudio Kraus is slashing prices to bring people in. “We’re putting a lot more items on sale than we ever had,’’ he said.

In short, the mood is sour across the city, said Rosemarie Sansone, president of the Downtown Crossing Partnership, which represents merchants and residents in the shopping district. “People are a bit depressed,’’ she said. “They are just sick and tired of seeing all this rain.’’

Of course, for some, the rain is gold. Movie theaters, for example, fill more seats. “The rule of thumb for 99 percent of theater chains is: Rain is good,’’’ said Howie Sandler, general manager at Kendall Square Cinema.

Sun-starved customers have also been flocking to the Perfect Tan salon on Commonwealth Avenue, said owner Francie Hauck, and not just for the tanning. “It’s for the warmth,’’ she said.

At Boston Party Rental in Dorchester, orders for tents at weddings and graduations have been up 23 percent - a silver lining in an otherwise ho-hum party season, with many cutting back on big events. “I hope it rains every weekend for the next couple of months,’’ said general manager Mike Gundersen.

There may be no businesses that depend more on summertime spending than the tourist venues of Cape Cod. At the inaugural Cape Cod Quahog Day on Sunday, held under a tent in the rain, a quahog, in a curious, first-of-its-kind ritual, sat on a red velvet pillow and purportedly predicted 11 1/2 weeks of sunny beach weather this summer, said Wendy Northcross, Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce chief executive.

“I guess we’ll do anything to get a good weather forecast,’’ she said.

Globe correspondent Sean Sposito contributed to this report. Jenn Abelson can be reached at abelson@globe.com; Katie Johnston Chase can be reached at johnstonchase@globe.com.