China retail sales growth quickens to 10.8% in November

BEIJING - China's retail sales of consumer goods grew 10.8 percent year on year in November, accelerating from the 10-percent rise posted for October, data showed Tuesday.

Total retail sales of consumer goods hit 3.1 trillion yuan ($449.9 billion) last month, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The data showed strong consumption potential in rural areas, with retail sales expanding 11 percent, outpacing the 10.8-percent rate in urban areas.

In the first 11 months of the year, China's retail sales of consumer goods rose 10.4 percent year on year to 30 trillion yuan.

Online spending also did well. From January to November, online sales surged 26.2 percent year on year to 4.6 trillion yuan.

On Singles' Day, Nov 11, Chinese splurged more than 120 billion yuan on leading online market place Alibaba.

Retail sales have contributed significantly to China's economic growth as the country shifts from an export-driven economy to a consumer society.

Consumption contributed 73.4 percent of China's economic expansion in the first half of 2016, official data showed.