BEIJING — China’s retail sales of consumer goods grew 10.4 percent year-on-year to 26.32 trillion yuan ($3.97 trillion) in the first nine months of 2017, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Oct 19.

The pace was unchanged compared to the same period last year, the NBS said in a statement.

The NBS attributed the growth partly to booming online sales, which surged 34.2 percent year-on-year, 8.1 percentage points faster than the same period last year.

From January to September, retail sales in rural areas rose 12.1 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 three quarters this year.