Black Friday shoppers search for deals

Shoppers crowded area shopping malls and other retailers today in search of what they hope are some of the best bargains of the year.

The turnout today and this weekend helps set the mood for the rest of the holiday season, though consumer sentiment has been bleak in recent months as household assets have fallen amid the ailing real estate and stock markets.

Before dawn today, crowds of shoppers were out looking for deep discounts.

"With the way the economy is, I knew it was going to be busier than usual because of the good prices and everyone trying to spend less money," said Alison Rohrback of Towson, who waited outside the Towson Walmart with her husband, Rick Rohrbach.

At 5:15 a.m., a line stretched around the corner from the store. Baltimore County police officers stationed in the parking lot said the Towson crowd had been orderly. However, a fight was reported at the White Marsh Walmart early today, county police said.

Unlike his wife, who had a purse full of coupons and lists, Rick Rohrback is a relative newcomer to Black Friday shopping. But the special sales and opportunity to get most of the holiday shopping done early motivated him to come out before dawn.

This year in particular, people are just trying to keep more money in their pockets, said Rick Rohrback, who works for Johns Hopkins medical school.

The economy wasn't as much of a concern for the Udumukwu sisters of Rosedale: Amara, 21; Stacey, 18; and Erika, 14. They waited outside Walmart in search of deals on electronics. Still reliant on their parents' support, the sisters said they might find even better deals because of retailers' discounts this year.

About 45 percent of consumers said they plan to shop on Black Friday, the ceremonial kickoff for the holiday shopping season, or during this weekend, according to a survey commissioned by the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs. That's compared with 36 percent last year.

More than two-thirds of shoppers plan to shop at discount stores, according to the survey.

At the Towson Target, more than 300 people had lined up before the store's 6 a.m. opening.

As a waiting crowd of about 150 people filed into the Timonium Kohl's this morning at 4 a.m., store manager Dexter Williams smiled and said the number of shoppers "very, very healthy."

To lure financially pinched consumers, retailers stepped up their discounting by offering Black Friday-like promotions earlier than usual. But economists warn that shoppers may hold off even longer in hopes they will see further reductions, undermining sales for retailers who are forced to take lower margins.

Several shoppers interviewed today said they had modified their shopping habits in some way.

Latrice Price of Randallstown, a volunteer coordinator for a nonprofit organization, said she had started her shopping earlier this year, buying gifts a few at a time, rather than all at once, to avoid a financial crunch. Price was shopping at Kohl's with her sister and a cousin.

Janae Stubbs of White Marsh, a consultant who teaches computer programs to state workers, said that even though her job is solid, she felt less confident and has "strategically planned what to buy people, versus impulse buying."

Maryann Moro of Parkville, who was at Kohl's with her adult son and daughter, said this year she was "just trying to be a little more thrifty."

"You try to get as much as you can for your money," said Moro, a receptionist for an orthodontist. The recently lower gasoline prices help make holiday shopping a little easier, she and her children remarked.

But still, the shopping strategy was to "make the most of what you've got," said her son, John Moro, 22, of Westminster.