Boosted by strong online sales, China’s retail sales grew 10.7 per cent year-on-year last month, official data shows.

Total sales of consumer goods hit RMB2.95 trillion (US$434.2 billion), according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The growth pace was on par with that in April and 0.7 points faster on a year-on-year basis.

In first five months of this year, total retail sales of consumer goods rose 10.3 per cent year-on-year, 0.1 points faster than the growth in the first four months.

With robust growth, online retail sales hit RMB2.47 trillion in the first five months, up 32.5 per cent.

Physical goods sold online surged 26.5 per cent in the January-May period, accounting for 13.2 per cent of total retail sales.

Consumption was relatively stronger in rural areas, with retail sales expanding 12.7 per cent last month, outpacing urban areas where retail sales climbed 10.4 per cent.