By the time the sun rose on Black Friday, many shoppers had already taken advantage of the price-slashing and deep discounting that many retailers are using to try to combat the consumer fears about a struggling economy.

Many chains made doorbusters and secret sales available on Thursday or even earlier, either online or in stores. Both of the region's outlet malls, Tanger Outlets in South Strabane and Prime Outlets in Grove City, opened at midnight to get customers in following Thanksgiving dinner. Malls and big box stores generally were open by 4 a.m. or 5 a.m.

"The deep discounts on the hottest holiday items may have been just enough to get the attention of those consumers who were on the fence about braving the crowds and the cold," said Tracy Mullin, president and chief executive officer of the National Retail Federation, an industry group in Washington, D.C.

The federation is predicting holiday sales will rise 2.2 percent this year to $470.4 billion, a number that would mark the slowest growth since 2002. Some other industry experts have forecast even lower numbers.

This morning, according to the retail group, the most popular goods seemed to be electronics, toys and clothes. In particular, flat-screen TVs, GPS systems, cashmere sweaters, video game systems and Blu-Ray players seemed to go quickly.

Pittsburgh-area shoppers were among those who either stayed up late or got up very, very early.

Ana Valero-Silva, 24, of Plum, arrived at Best Buy in Monroeville 12 hours before its 5 a.m. opening today.

She was wearing three pairs of socks (with foot warmers), tights, pajamas, sweatpants, regular pants, two long-sleeve shirts, a sweater and a winter coat. She said if she didn't move at all, she was nice and toasty as she waited to buy a laptop computer.

Her neighbor, at least in the Best Buy line, was Ashley Tokich, 22, of Monroeville, who arrived just after Ms. Valero-Silva and had not only a tent for herself, but a loaner for Ms. Valero-Silva and her friends.

"We bonded," said Ms. Valero-Silva, who was also able to describe the Hewlett-Packard computer that Ms. Tokich was planning to buy after her 12 hours in the cold. She was going to save $500 on her computer.

George Nadour, 23, of Shadyside, had a longer list of items: three televisions, two computers and a camera. The customers who arrived later waited in a line that stretched the width of the building and the depth of the parking lot.

Ray Yenchi, 45, of Ashburn, Virginia was in Monroeville Mall with his mother, Ruth Yenchi, 67, of Plum, well before 6 a.m. and they didn't want to buy anything. Instead, they came for the little snow globes being handed out at J.C. Penney. His children like them.

Debbie Thiel, of Beechview, was handing out those snow globes, as she did last year, after having been up since 7:30 Thursday morning. She cooked Thanksgiving dinner and had it cleaned up by 8:30 p.m. She tried to get to bed but, "I couldn't sleep. I was so excited."

She was at work Friday morning at 3:30 in anticipation of the 4 a.m. opening and her shift didn't end until noon.

-- Ann Belser

Ten minutes before the scheduled 5 a.m. opening time of the Walmart store in the Waterworks shopping center, a line of customers snaked from the entrance down the front width of the building, around the corner and almost the whole way to the end of the right side.

The line was orderly, although a reporter who went to the front of the line to do interviews with the first of the early birds drew some grumbling from a woman convinced it was a ruse to sneak ahead.

At the very front was Chris Branchen, an Avonworth resident who goes to school in Cleveland. He'd been there since 9 p.m. Thanksgiving night, in hopes of nailing down a 42-inch flat screen TV with a liquid crystal display. "And a stand, but I hear they're going quick."

He was joined at 9:30 p.m. by his cousin, Nicole Bormen, of Penn Hills. "We went to the car a couple times but not much," she said. Gesturing to a few more young people behind her, she added, "We're all cousins.

About 5 or 10 minutes after the store's opening, Mr. Branchen had already checked out with the TV. It cost him $598 before tax.

When the doors opened at 5 a.m., a department manager at the door counseled, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, you're gonna get in there."

Another employee stood just inside the doors and counted customers as they filed in. By 3 or 4 minutes after 5 a.m., she was over 400 and still counting.

Only a small percentage of those in line outside actually ran into the store; the rest just walked fast. Some already had their shopping carts.

Once inside, they rushed off in different directions, many to electronics; others to video games and toys.

Still others seemed to making methodical searches of most departments, looking for bargains wherever they could find them. A couple of women were digging through huge bath towels and cotton sheet sets (500-thread count) for $20.

-- Pohla Smith

At Macy's Downtown, the setting was perfect for an early morning shopping rush. By 4:45 a.m., the bright, mechanized Christmas displays were up and running, and whimsical holiday music floated through the chilly dawn air.

But there was no one, save one groggy reporter, lined up to get in right as the doors opened from the first floor. Customers began to trickle in about five minutes later, but it was far from the legendary stampedes of frantic customers seen elsewhere.

Bertha Smith, a beauty consultant with Prescriptives, said she had worked Black Friday two years ago and remembers lines.

She had a simple explanation for the lack of crowds. "[We're] not giving away any special gifts this time. Anytime they hear 'free,' you know they will come," she said.

-- Moriah Balingit