NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Retail sales rose sharply in December, a government report showed Thursday, boosted by strong auto sales as car manufacturers courted consumers with deep incentives.

The Department of Commerce report showed overall sales up 1.2 percent in December compared to November, when sales rose 0.1 percent.

Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast retail sales to rise 1.1 percent in December.

Excluding strong auto sales, retail sales rose 0.3 percent, following a revised 0.4 rise in November. Economists, on average, had expected a rise of 0.4 for the period.

"Looking at November and December together, it seems that retail sales held up pretty well during the holidays, although last month consumers shifted their purchasing power to other categories such as furniture and home goods," said Michael Niemira, chief economist and director of research with the International Council of Shopping Centers (ISCS).

"We also saw a shift last month to the non-retail components such as Internet and mail-order sales," he added.

Much of the upward revision in the December number came from sales of motor vehicles, which increased 4.3 percent last month. Other categories that performed strongly were furniture stores, which posted a 2.2 percent gain, and building and garden equipment sales, which were up 1.2 percent.

Non-store retailers, which includes online and catalog sales, rose 1.9 percent.

Electronics sales were a marked disappointment, down 0.2 percent. Apparel sales declined 0.6 percent, while department store sales rose a paltry 0.2 percent.

"The gains were uneven, however, with small declines in clothing and electronics, a decent 0.7 percent rise for general merchandise and a huge leap for non-store retailers," Ian Shepherdson, chief economist with High Frequency Economics, wrote in a report. "Provided January holds up -- surveys suggest so far, so good -- the overall holiday season will have been pretty good."