BEIJING, May 15 -- China's retail sales of consumer goods grew 9.4 percent year on year to reach 2.85 trillion yuan (about 450 billion U.S. dollars) in April, official data showed on Tuesday.

The expansion dropped slightly from the 10.1-percent rise seen in March, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The data showed sales in rural areas gained 10.6 percent in April, outpacing the 9.2 percent in urban areas.

In breakdown, the catering sector reported a 9.6-percent year-on-year rise in revenue, while sales of other consumer products increased 9.4 percent.

Online spending continued to be robust, with sales surging 32.4 percent to reach 2.58 trillion yuan in the Jan.-April period, up 0.4 percentage points than the same period last year.

Consumption has been a key economic driver for China and contributed to 77.8 percent of economic growth in the first quarter, up from 58.8 percent in 2017.