ERIN EDGEMON, Business Editor
Posted: Friday, November 28, 2008 2:32 pm

TMP photo by Kelly Hite. Jessica Persoey takes advantage of Black Friday sales at Phase II on the first day of the holiday shopping season.

So far, local retailers are calling Black Friday a success with more shoppers than expected crowding stores to get their hands on bargain-priced televisions, clothing and toys.

Tim Fox, manager of the Old Fort Parkway Wal-Mart, anticipates bigger sales this year than last based on the amount of shoppers that began entering the store at 5 a.m.

He said he wasn’t sure what kind of Black Friday to expect with the current downturn in the economy.

“I think everyone was out to get a bargain today,” Fox said.

Sales have been helped with Wal-Mart’s bigger than usual Black Friday advertisement that boasted deals on high-definition televisions, he said.

Fox said he was thankful for the store’s patient shoppers who had to wait in extremely long lines in order to take the deals they found home.

“Everyone was patient and calm,” he said. “It was the calmest group of people I have ever seen.”

Parking spaces around Stones River Mall were limited Friday morning with shoppers taking advantage of the large number of retailers under one roof.

“So far, we’ve had significant traffic, which hopefully lead to a spike in retail sales,” said Heather Rose, the mall’s marketing manager, Friday afternoon. “If the shopping we’ve seen today is any indication, it’s going to be a great holiday season for our retailers.”

Jenna B, an executive team leader at Target, called Black Friday “crazy. Just crazy.”

Shoppers were lined up outside the store prior to its 6 a.m. opening.

Jenna, who declined to give her last name, however, said the store didn’t seem as busy as Black Friday the previous year.

Anticipation of big sales was great Friday at The Avenue.

“We had people camping out overnight at Best Buy in tents, actually,” said Angie Carter, The Avenue general manager, about 100 people were lined up outside the store before it even opened.

Early Friday afternoon, nearly every parking space at the lifestyle center was filled, she said.

As an extra incentive to shoppers, The Avenue is giving away a gift for shoppers who spend at least $100 at the lifestyle center’s stores, Carter said. By 2 p.m., 150 out of the available 300 The Avenue cosmetic cases had been given away

Carter said she was optimistic going into the official start of the holiday shopping season, and the amount of traffic even exceeded her expectations.

“We people talk about the economy slowing, you can’t tell it here,” she said. “We are really thriving.”

Carter said she expects large crowds throughout the weekend as many retailers are continuing their door-buster sales.

Erin Edgemon can be reached at 869-0812 and at eedgemon@murfreesboropost.com.