Last-minute shopping provided Christmas boost to push overall holiday retail spending 8.7% above 2004 levels, according to one early projection reported in the media Monday. The report in The Wall Street Journal's online edition came as retailers hope to finish 2005 on a high note with a strong post-holiday consumer turnout before Saturday and New Year's Eve. The Journal said the report of an 8.7% increase in preholiday spending came from SpendingPulse, a retail-sales data service from MasterCard International's MasterCard Advisors unit. Demand for flat-panel television sets, MP3 players and digital cameras helped spur gains, as did sales of home furnishings, The Journal reported, but sales of jewelry fell this season following years of solid gains. SpendingPulse data covers the period from Friday, Nov. 25, through Saturday, Dec. 24, a 30-day shopping season this year compared with only 29 days in 2004, The Journal said. The projection is based on data and analysis that includes purchases made via credit and debit cards, cash and checks. It includes sales at stores and on the Internet, sales of gift cards and sales of food in stores and restaurants. It doesn't include auto or gasoline sales, The Journal said. The National Retail Federation, an industry group, had predicted a 6% rise in overall holiday spending, well behind the SpendingPulse projection, The Journal said. The SpendingPulse data reflects both online sales and sales of gift cards; the NRF counts only a portion of online sales, and it doesn't count sales of gift cards until they are redeemed, The Journal said. In 2004 MasterCard projected an 8.1% gain in holiday retail sales, and in January 2005, the Commerce Department reported an 8.7% increase in December sales, The Journal said. The NRF forecast a 4.5% gain in 2004 holiday sales and in January 2005 reported a 5.7% rise, according to the story.