By Phil Wahba and Jessica Wohl

MONTREAL/CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. retailers performed better during the holiday shopping season this year than in historically dismal 2008, in line with lowered expectations, according to data released on Monday.

Activity tracked by SpendingPulse, a unit of MasterCard Advisors, showed retail sales rose 3.6 percent in the period from November 1 through Christmas Eve on December 24.

Factoring out an extra shopping day this year between the November 26 Thanksgiving holiday and December 24, that increase was closer to 1 percent, SpendingPulse said.

SpendingPulse figures reflect activity in the MasterCard Inc payment networks and estimates for other payments like cash and checks. They exclude gasoline and auto sales.

This year, fewer consumers had credit cards after issuers tightened lending terms, while many others said they preferred to pay with harder-to-track cash in order to stay on budget.

In 2008, spending fell 2.3 percent as tracked by SpendingPulse and 2.8 percent as tracked by the National Retail Federation, as the financial crisis led consumers to cut back.

"Last year the economy and consumer spending were in free fall. This year we're talking about an environment that has stabilized. That has seen a leveling off," said Kamalesh Rao, director of economic research at Spending Pulse.

Rao cautioned that a consumer return was tentative and far below 2007 levels. Holiday sales can account for 25 percent to 40 percent of annual sales for many retailers.

Looking at the holiday season as a whole, industry experts said retail sales neither added an optimism-inducing upside nor a deeply worrying downside to their forecasts.

"Holiday 2009 can be described in one word, 'Adequate,'" NPD Group chief retail analyst Marshal Cohen said in a note.

The Standard & Poor's Retail Index was up 0.3 percent by the end of trade on Monday. Top retail gainers included American Eagle Outfitters, up 2.9 percent.

NRF STICKS TO FORECAST

The National Retail Federation continues to expect a 1 percent drop in sales for November and December, while other forecasts predict a rise of up to 1 percent.

The NRF plans to issue its own holiday season tally, based on government data, on January 14. While it is not moving away from its forecast, "we're encouraged by preliminary survey results," spokesman Scott Krugman said on Monday.

Among stocks cited as holiday season winners this year, Gap Inc rose 1.4 percent. Wal-Mart Stores Inc, which offered early and deep discounts, rose 0.7 percent. Amazon.com Inc was helped by higher online shopping overall and its Kindle e-reader, and its shares rose 0.6 percent.