China’s retail sales grew at a slower-than-expected 17.7 percent year-on-year in April, according to figures released by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

In March, retail sales rose 34.2 percent on the year and analysts polled by Reuters had expected growth of 24.9 percent for April.

Online sales of consumer goods rose 23.1 percent during the first four months of the year from a year ago, a slower pace than the 25.8 percent year-on-year growth rate of the first three months of the year. The bureau did not release figures for individual months.

In a quarterly monetary policy report released last week, the People’s Bank of China flagged the country’s constrained consumer spending as an indication that the foundation of China’s economic recovery isn’t yet solid, a point the NBS reiterated in its release on Monday.