China's retail sales of consumer goods, a major indicator of the country's consumption strength, climbed 4.1 percent year on year in the first five months of this year, official data showed Monday.

Retail sales during the period topped 19.52 trillion yuan (about 2.74 trillion U.S. dollars), according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Online retail sales jumped 12.4 percent year on year to nearly 5.77 trillion yuan in the January-May period, with online retail sales of physical goods expanding 11.5 percent and accounting for 24.7 percent of the total retail sales of consumer goods.

In May alone, retail sales of consumer goods expanded 3.7 percent year on year to top 3.92 trillion yuan, the data showed. Meanwhile, retail sales excluding automobiles went up 4.7 percent to over 3.53 trillion yuan.

Retail sales in rural areas expanded 4.1 percent year on year to 510 billion yuan in May, while that in urban areas increased 3.7 percent to over 3.41 trillion yuan.

In May, retail sales of goods rose 3.6 percent from a year ago to more than 3.49 trillion yuan, while catering revenue hit 427.4 billion yuan, an increase of 5 percent year on year.

Commenting on the data, NBS spokesperson Liu Aihua said that the country's market demand continues to recover.

Liu attributed the growth of retail sales in May to the May Day holiday, trade-in policies of consumer goods, and the initial result of promotions of the online shopping festival known as "6.18".

In the next stage, with large-scale equipment renewals and trade-in policies, the promotion effect will be further revealed, according to Liu.