Black Friday may have been a bust

A muted Black Friday seemed to confirm retailers' worst fears, as the post-Thanksgiving shopping season kicked off with fewer people lined up for door-buster specials at Nashville-area stores and budget-conscious consumers cautious about how much they were spending.

"It's really a (financial) struggle right now," said 25-year-old Kevin Vo, a pharmacy student who lined up outside a Best Buy store at the Nashville West shopping center at 3 a.m. Vo rose early to buy a laptop computer for $350, but he intended to head home after that purchase.

James Ackerman, a Belle Meade resident, was surprised by how little foot traffic he saw at the Mall at Green Hills.

"To tell you the truth, I'm a bit shocked," said Ackerman, who was in the neighborhood picking up vitamins at the Whole Foods supermarket. "It's not busy at all. It feels like any other Friday of the year. There just aren't a lot of people out today."

The day after Thanksgiving traditionally starts the Christmas shopping period, because it historically has been a day when consumer frenzy helps stores earn most of their profits for the year. But this season, with rampant discounts of up to 70 percent common throughout November, the power of the landmark day may have faded.

Many retailers said crowds lacked the spirit of lavish spending evident in past years. At a Target store in Madison, fewer customers lined up for the 6 a.m. opening despite early-riser deals such as a $299 high-definition TV and $89 Kodak digital camera.

Morning crowds at the Mall at Green Hills were sparser than a year ago, retailers there said.

Paul LeQuire, area manager for Bachrach, a men's apparel store at the Mall at Green Hills, estimated Black Friday sales would be off 10 percent to 20 percent from last year. The store had steep discounts on some items of clothing — such as a $200 cashmere coat marked down to $99.

"There isn't the optimism there usually is during the holidays," LeQuire said. "Consumers want to seem frugal. They don't want to show off."

Shoppers stick to their lists

Other Black Friday shoppers said they had hit fewer stores or stuck more closely to shopping lists. Ackerman said he was more budget-conscious than ever before.

"I'm bargain-shopping this year more than any other year that I can remember," Ackerman said. "Honestly, I'm planning to do most of my shopping at big discount retail stores or online."

Christmas sales this year are projected to be the weakest in nearly two decades nationwide. Last year, the Thanksgiving shopping weekend of Friday through Sunday accounted for about 10 percent of overall holiday sales, according to ShopperTrak RCT Corp., a research firm. Data for this year are incomplete.

Consumers feel pinched

Many local consumers, clutching promotional store circulars as they started to shop Friday, said they felt financially pinched.

Anna Fahrenholz, a 38-year-old stay-at-home mom married to a physician, said prices seemed too high at The Mall at Green Hills, so she planned to head to discount outlets TJ Maxx and Ross Dress for Less in search of gifts under $20 instead.

"I was surprised there weren't that many deals," Fahrenholz said.

Patricia Adams, 58, tried to convince her daughter not to get a $24 High School Musical doll set because she didn't think it was discounted enough. "I am watching (my budget)," Adams said. "Every dime I spend."

Buyers 'hit and run'

Britt Beemer, chairman of America's Research Group, said he expected crowds to dramatically taper off the rest of this weekend nationwide, and that those consumers who do spend money would be targeting specific bargains.

He called the phenomenon "hit-and-run shoppers."

"If the deal is there, they bought it," Beemer said, adding that if a store didn't offer a good enough price, consumers "walked out without it."

David Mangrum, 8, asked his grandmother, Melissa Pearson, if she would buy him a Star Wars toy that sold for "only $59" at RiverGate Mall early Friday. Pearson, a substitute teacher with six grandchildren, said she couldn't afford it.

"We got food and clothing and a roof over our heads and gas," Pearson said. "This is more important than toys."

Annie McClain, 70, said she planned to wait for after-Christmas sales to find gifts for most of her five grandchildren.

She said her monthly bills had soared with the rising cost of heating her home. McClain bought two sweaters for herself and a mixer for her grandson that was on sale at Macy's department store.

"By the time I pay my bills, I have nothing left to spend," McClain said.

Even 'closeout' is slow

At S&K Menswear at RiverGate Mall, a "closeout sale" was off to a slow start.

Store manager Hannah Sloan surveyed a nearly empty store with racks full of clothes more than 40 percent off. "For us, it's not going so well," said Sloan, adding that sales had seen a "significant decline."

Some national retailers, including Macy's, KB Toys Inc., Best Buy and Toys 'R' Us, said Black Friday crowds were at least as large as last year, but that many shoppers said they were buying smaller, less expensive presents.

Analysts said sales totals on Friday might not match the year-ago levels as Americans slash holiday budgets, even for their own children.

"I've always filled the tree. But you have to be honest," said Shannon Keane, 38, of Cary, N.C., a single mother who was recently laid off from her job. "This year, I'll do the best I can."

She was out with her 13-year-old son Miles at a local Wal-Mart, buying one item: an iPod. "He really wanted this one thing," Keane said. "So we're here for this one thing."

And while steep price cuts on many items were great for cash-strapped consumers across the country, such moves could depress sales and profits for store owners in a season that many believe could show a rare contraction in overall Christmas spending.

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