Hundreds of shoppers took to the stores in Albert Lea Friday during the traditional Black Friday shopping extravaganza of sales and frenzy.

Worries about the state of the economy may have halted some from spending like they usually do during the holidays, but it was clear Friday that many were still eager and ready to take part in the traditional start of the holiday shopping season.

Stores opened as early as 4 a.m. at Herberger’s and 5 a.m. at Wal-Mart and ShopKo in Albert Lea, featuring one-time sales on televisions, navigation systems and digital picture frames, to name a few.

Hot items at Wal-Mart were ones such as a 50-inch Samsung plasma HDTV for $798 and a Garmin GPS device for $97. The store also offered $4 jeans for kids and $8 jeans for adults, along with $2 and $9 DVDs.

ShopKo offered some similar sales including a Nextar navigation system for $89.99 and a Coby MP3 player for $29.99.

At Herberger’s some of the biggest hits were the navigation systems, an 18-piece Pyrex set for $14.97 after rebate, reversible down comforters for $19.97 and Barbie sets for $12.97. Appliances were also popular.

There were probably around 30 people waiting outside the doors when they opened there at 4 a.m.

Kathy Jensen, a 1979 Albert Lea High School graduate who lives in west Des Moines, said she was out shopping for family early that morning. She started at about 6:30 a.m. and went to Wal-Mart first, she said.

While she was shopping at Herberger’s — which was still pretty busy around 9 a.m. — she noted she may not have gone out into the shopping frenzy of Black Friday if she were in Des Moines, but she enjoys going out in Albert Lea when she comes home for Thanksgiving. While it is busy, it’s not as busy as in bigger cities.

Some of the good deals she was taking advantage of were cheap clothing, small appliances and GPS systems.

Also at Herberger’s Friday morning was Diane Broskoff and her two daughters, Angie Klemmensen and Krissy Routh.

The women left the Ellendale/Geneva area around 4:30 a.m. and first went to Wal-Mart and after Herberger’s were headed toward ShopKo.

“I’ve had fun,” Broskoff said. “We got a lot done.”

Broskoff and Kelmmensen said some of their purchases included Nintendo Wiis, accessories and even some televisions.

“We did really well,” Broskoff said.

The mother said she normally wouldn’t come out on Black Friday, but she was glad she did.

“This really wasn’t bad,” she said. “A nice way to kick off the holiday.”

She described the Wal-Mart store when they first got there as “pretty crazy.”

“You couldn’t get down the middle aisle,” she said.

She said the group waited in line for probably 30 minutes, but that was to be expected.

Later in the afternoon Friday, Betty Stoick decided to try the sales at Walgreens in Albert Lea.

Stoick said she too had gotten a television, digital photo frames, a camera and a navigator earlier in the day.

She said while the economy has had an effect on her spending purchases, she still has it as a priority to buy gifts.

She was out looking for gifts for a large family of seven children, 14 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Last year she went to Rochester, and it was crazy, she said. Things weren’t as bad in Albert Lea.

Albert Lea Walgreens Store Manager Steffanie Corning said some of her store’s biggest hits were $99.99 10-inch Venturer LCD digital televisions, a generic Wii system for $19.99 and Webkinz Lil’Kinz pets for a buy one get one free sale.

When asked whether she thought the weakened economy has had an effect on her customer’s spending, Corning responded: “It seems to me that people are spending money like crazy.”

Black Friday received its name because it historically was the day when a surge of shoppers helped stores break into profitability for the full year. But this year, with rampant promotions of up to 70 percent throughout the month including even at luxury stores like Saks Fifth Avenue amid a deteriorating economy, the power of this landmark day for the retail industry could be fading.

Still, while it isn’t a predictor of holiday sales, the day after Thanksgiving is an important barometer of people’s willingness to spend for the rest of the season. And particularly this year, analysts will dissect how the economy is shaping buying habits in a season that many analysts predict could see a contraction in spending from a year ago.

Last year, the Thanksgiving shopping weekend of Friday through Sunday accounted for about 10 percent of overall holiday sales, according to ShopperTrak RCT Corp.