BEIJING, April 15 (Xinhua) -- China's retail sales of consumer goods increased 10.3 percent in the first quarter year on year, official data showed Friday.

The first quarter reading was 0.4 percentage points lower than that recorded last year, according to the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

In March, retail sales were up 10.5 percent year on year, faster than the growth rate in the first two months this year.