China's retail sales of consumer goods, a major indicator of the country's consumption strength, went up 5.4 percent year-on-year in August, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Sept 16.
The growth quickened from a 2.7 percent increase registered in July.
NBS spokesperson Fu Linghui attributed the faster growth to improved market demand boosted by pro-consumption measures.
The country's retail sales of consumer goods totaled 3.63 trillion yuan (about $523.2 billion) in August, according to the NBS.
In the first eight months, retail sales rose 0.5 percent year-on-year to 28.26 trillion yuan, compared with a 0.2 percent fall in the January-July period.
"This shows that China has great demand potential. With pro-consumption policies, there are conditions and foundations for a gradual recovery in consumption," Fu said.
Online consumption continued to shore up retail sales. In the first eight months, online sales of physical goods climbed 5.8 percent year-on-year, accounting for 25.6 percent of the country's total retail sales.
With policies to boost demand taking effect, catering revenues swung back to growth in August, rising 8.4 percent year-on-year, compared with a 1.5 percent decline logged in July.
