Armed with extra money from a second job, help from two family members and research into flat-screen-TV sale prices, Ray Billburg had a shopping strategy.

The 20-year-old Gilbert resident, with his brother and cousin, hit Circuit City at 5 a.m. Friday, two hours before it opened.

The goal: Secure a 40-inch, high-resolution, flat-screen TV.

Like many Valley shoppers constrained by economic conditions, they showed up early but targeted just one or two items and didn't spend on spur-of-the-moment purchases.

"The rent is due on Monday, so I can't get too crazy," Billburg said.

As night turned to dawn, shoppers turned out throughout the Valley in numbers similar to past years. The pre-holiday excitement was there, but shoppers uniformly said they were spending with caution.

Flat-panel TV and laptop deals, children's toys, video games, practical housewares, and heavily discounted high-end clothing and accessories fared well, according to local and national reports.

Many shoppers said they were sticking to a budget and simply walked away when they didn't find low-priced goods. Their frugality, analysts say, could hurt retailers and force them to make deeper discounts before Christmas.

After waiting to be among the first inside Circuit City, Billburg and his family raced to the TV section and commandeered two models. But the mission wasn't over.

Billburg said he planned to pay cash and wouldn't have the money until his bank opened at 9 a.m. The younger relatives would have to stay at the store and guard the goods.

"They want the TV just as badly as me," Billburg said.

Monitoring sales

The day after Thanksgiving is dubbed Black Friday, referring to the heavy sales volume that traditionally has put many stores "in the black," or into profitability, for the year.

Economists will be watching the sales from this Black Friday more closely, hoping to see just how deeply consumers are taking the economic downturn to heart. Estimates will be available early next week.

Although Friday's steep price cuts, which were even more aggressive than the deep discounting offered throughout the month, are great for consumers, such moves are expected to depress sales and profits in a season that many believe could show a rare contraction in spending, according to Janet Hoffman, managing partner of the North American retail practice of Accenture.

"Everybody is feeling the crunch," said Rachelle Williamson, 27, a stay-at-home mom shopping at a north Scottsdale Walmart. "I'm looking for the good deals, but not just because it is a good deal. We want good deals on stuff that we need."

'Practical Christmas'

Black Friday isn't a predictor of sales for the season, because the bulk of holiday sales occurs in the final days before Dec. 25. But it does serve as a barometer for consumers' willingness to spend. Last year, the Thanksgiving weekend accounted for 10.1 percent of holiday sales.

Patricia Edwards, a national retail analyst for Seattle-based Storehouse Partners, said that discounters such as Walmart had heavy traffic on Friday while some upscale stores struggled.

Edwards said demand for expensive gaming systems dropped, but shoppers still bought video games.

"It's very definitely going to be a practical Christmas," Edwards said.

Expect bigger price cuts by Christmas if stores don't see big sales this weekend, she said.

"There is a lot of inventory on the floors," Edwards said. "I have a feeling we will see more discounts."

Retailers got some signals Friday that the shopping season won't be a total bust, because even a weak Black Friday coaxes some shoppers into spur-of-the moment purchases.

Donna Brown, 54, a nurse from Cave Creek, browsed through watches with her husband, Art, at Kohl's in Scottsdale.

They had already bought $10 sleeping bags at Sports Authority to donate to the homeless and a printer for themselves.

"We are not as frisky about spending," Donna said.

America's Research Group in Charleston, S.C., surveyed shoppers across the country and found similar sentiment.

"It was clear they had special items they were going to buy, and they didn't buy anything else," Chairman Britt Beemer said. "If they could get that one item, they did. If not, they walked out without it."

Purchases of the doorbuster deals that retailers use to lure customers won't make a profitable season without impulse purchases, too, he said.

"We are not seeing consumers walk out with three or four bags," he said. "That is kind of scary."

Brian Parks, 51, a firefighter from Paradise Valley, was loading up on tools at Sears at Paradise Valley Mall.

"I just came out because there were specials on the tools I wanted," Parks said. "This is the only store I'm going to, then I'm going home to hide."

'No money to shop'

Sale prices weren't low enough for many shoppers.

Jesus Abril, 51, a Gilbert resident who lost his job in September after Bill Heard Chevrolet closed, was in and out of Circuit City with his wife and son in minutes.

"Last year, we would walk in and see something on sale and get it," Abril said. "We are not spending money frivolously."

At Mervyn's at Superstition Springs Center in Mesa, morning shopping was so light that some cashiers milled around.

It is the last Black Friday for the store because it is closing, which some customers lamented.

"It's kind of sad to see a store of this quality go under," said Dave Ward of Queen Creek. "It's a sign of the times."

The economy might weaken spending but not spirit, some shoppers said.

Thursday night, a crowd of about 30 people waited outside Best Buy on Southern Avenue and Alma School Road in Mesa with tents, blankets, chairs and even a barbecue grill.

First in line was Danielle Jackson, 30, a single mom from Mesa, who had been waiting outside since Tuesday night.

"We didn't know each other before we came, but now we do," Jackson said of the crowd. "I even barbecued steaks and burgers for everyone. We had our Thanksgiving dinner here."

Nessa Nejat, 21, of Mesa and a student at Arizona State University, said she was there just as company for a friend who was buying a computer.

"I have bills. I have rent. The economy is affecting me," Nejat said. "I have no money to shop."

Republic reporters Erin Norris, Griselda Nevarez, Najat Omer, Tatiana Hensley, Jillian Sloan and Adam Sneed contributed to this article. The Associated Press also contributed.