HispanicBusiness

Southern California shoppers swarmed local stores Friday in search of Black Friday discounts on everything from iPads and smartphones to clothing and jewelry.

In an effort to snag consumers early, many retailers launched their Black Friday sales late Thursday.

Will they get the financial boost they're looking for?

If Wal-Mart's customer turnout is any indication, the answer is probably yes. On Friday, Wal-Mart U.S. reported that this looks to be its best ever Black Friday event.

During the high traffic period from 8 p.m. through midnight Thursday, the mega-retailer processed nearly 10 million transactions and nearly 5,000 items per second.

Bill Simon, Wal-Mart U.S. president and CEO, said that activity was fueled by savvy marketing and careful preparation.

Business also exceeded expectations Friday at the Best Buy mobile store in the Westfield Topanga mall in Canoga Park, which primarily sells tablets and smartphones.

"We're busier than I was expecting," said Ricky Panh, who was helping man the store. "We're about three times as busy as we were last year. I think that's probably because we were open at midnight."

Black Friday appeared to be a success for the Big 5 store in San Dimas.

"It's busier than I expected," store manager Jose Martinez said, adding that one of the store's early-morning customers asked to purchase two bicycles for $99 each.

Martinez said he was looking forward to brisk business in the hours ahead.

"It should stay steady through the day," he said.

The Black Friday "creep" of launching sales earlier began in earnest a few years ago when stores realized that sales alone weren't enough to lure shoppers anymore, especially with Americans becoming more comfortable buying things online.

But opening on Thanksgiving was risky, with some employees and shoppers complaining it was almost sacrilegious.

Still, many stores felt they needed an edge, especially this season, when many Americans are worried about high unemployment and wondering whether Congress will be able to head off tax increases and spending cuts before the U.S. reaches the "fiscal cliff" in January.

The National Retail Federation estimates that sales in November and December will rise 4.1 percent this year to $586.1 billion, falling below last year's gain of 5.6 percent.

There's no doubt that consumers have been inundated with Black Friday sales promotions. But Michael Carney, an economist at Cal Poly Pomona, isn't so sure the deals are always there.

"I've heard suggestions that the deals may not be what they have been in the past, he said. "In some cases, I've heard that something they say is on sale was actually selling for less a month or two earlier."

That may be true, but consumers were still out in force on Black Friday.

Parking spaces were at a premium Friday morning at local malls as bargain hunters looked for deals on the year's busiest shopping day.

Drivers went round and round at The Quad and Whittwood Town Center in Whittier and at the Pico Rivera Towne Center.

"I do it every year," Whittier resident LeeAnn Sandoval said.

She admitted, however, that she was out later than her usual pre-dawn shopping spree. Instead of lining up to shop on Thanksgiving, Sandoval chose to spend the holiday with her family.

"I don't think it was worth it to save a couple hundred dollars on a TV instead of being with my family," she said.

Staff writers Brian Day, Sandra Molina and the Associated Press contributed to this report.