BEIJING — China’s retail sales of consumer goods grew 10.4 percent year on year in July this year, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Aug 14.

The pace was slower than the 11 percent for June, the NBS said in a statement.

Total retail sales of consumer goods hit 2.96 trillion yuan (about $444.6 billion) last month, said the NBS.

In the first seven months, China’s retail sales of consumer goods grew 10.4 percent year on year to 20.2 trillion yuan, according to the NBS.

The NBS attributed the growth partly to booming online sales, which surged 33.7 percent year on year in the first seven months, 0.3 percentage points higher than the first half.

Physical goods sold online surged 28.9 percent year on year in the January-July period, accounting for 13.8 percent of total retail sales, up 2.2 percentage points from the same period last year.

Retail sales in rural areas rose 11.7 percent in July, outpacing the 10.2 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.

China is trying to shift its economy toward a growth model driven by consumer spending, innovation and services, while weaning it off over-reliance on exports and investment.