BEIJING, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- China's retail sales of consumer goods maintained steady growth in the first three quarters of 2019 by rising 8.2 percent year on year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Friday.

Excluding sales of automobiles, the growth rate reached 9.1 percent during this period.

Retail sales in rural areas rose 9 percent, outpacing the 8-percent expansion in urban areas.

Smart household appliances and audio-video equipments by firms above a designated size reported a robust retail sales growth of 41.6 percent, indicating the acceleration of China's consumption upgrading.

Online sales continued to see fast expansion with a 16.8-percent year-on-year rise in the period, NBS data showed.

The national per capita consumption spending of households stood at 15,464 yuan (about 2,185 U.S. dollars), up 8.3 percent year on year. Among them, spending on services expanded 10.2 percent.