BEIJING — China’s retail sales of consumer goods grew 10.4 percent year on year in the first half of 2017, official data showed on July 17.

The pace was slightly faster than 10 percent for the first quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in a statement.

The NBS attributed the growth partly to booming online sales, which surged 33.4 percent year on year in the first half, 1.3 percentage points faster than the first quarter.

Retail sales in rural areas rose 12.3 percent, outpacing the 10.1 percent expansion for urban areas.

Booming retail sales are behind China’s stabilizing economy, which grew 6.9 percent in the first half of this year.