NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shoppers headed out to stores across the United States in a quest to score the best Black Friday discounts on everything from handbags to 4K TVs, with early promotions marking the start of a condensed holiday shopping season.

People wait in line to pay for purchases at Best Buy during a sales event on Thanksgiving day in Westbury, New York, U.S., November 28, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

The following are quotes from shoppers and store managers in the midst of America’s biggest shopping day:

DICK DOYLE, 76, RETIRED, SHOPPING AT MODELL’S SPORTING GOODS IN VIRGINIA:

“I will come to the mall, look at prices and go back and check them online. Prices and discounts online are competitive to what’s available in stores.”

MARIAH BERRY, 22, UNIQLO TRAINEE SUPERVISOR, CHICAGO

“We tend to have more deals in-store, so people come in rather than go online ... The only problem today is we didn’t expect how slow it would be. It’s the same with Macy’s and all the others, but that’s been surprising.”

ANTHONY WRIGHT JR, 26, ENGINEERING PHD STUDENT, SHOPPING AT BEST BUY BBY.N IN CHICAGO:

“We literally drove by at 2 o’clock after looking at YouTube videos of people sleeping outside. There weren’t really a lot of people so we went back home and came back around six.”

EVAN HOUSER, 22, ELECTRONICS SALESMAN AT TARGET TGT.N IN DOWNTOWN CHICAGO:

“It’s slow now because we had a big, big rush last night - we had a line around the block from like 4:30.”

SERGE MENENG, 48, ENGINEER, SHOPPING AT COSTCO COST.O IN VIRGINIA:

“I came in to Costco this morning, hoping to get a good deal on a Canon camera I have been wanting to buy and I checked the price online versus in-store and it was better here.”

MONYETTA MONK, 30, WORKS IN EMERGENCY AT A HOSPITAL, SHOPPING AT TARGET TGT.N IN VIRGINIA:

“We are doing some Christmas shopping and for some birthdays between now and the end of the year. We came out this morning for a popular LOL toy and were able to save $30. Target is very competitive when it comes toys.”