Gray Thursday, Black Friday sales slide

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Steep discounts and deals lured consumers across the country and in the Valley to retailers both big and small. However, it appears fewer people actually shopped 'til they dropped.

Just a few days ago, stores like Best Buy saw early crowds on Gray Thursday and Black Friday, and the sales just kept going with a whole discounted weekend.

But the National Retail Federation says sales dropped this year by 5 percent. Marketing expert Dr. William Rice says with the multiple days of Black Friday, he's not surprised.

"People are looking more at the time period in which they have to make decisions, rather than the day they have to make decisions, so that's changed a lot," said Rice. "I've watched people they say, 'I'm not going to go out on Friday because you can see all that stuff online three or four days ahead of time.'"

Fresno resident Sylvia Vartanian says she went out Black Friday and saw smaller crowds but also smaller discounts -- nothing that impressed this bargainista, who still has a Christmas list but a clear plan.

"I find that Black Friday is just a big hoopla. The better deals are definitely right before Christmas. That's when you start to get the additional coupons on top of the clearance price, so then it ends up really saving you a buck," said Vartanian.

At Target, employees are still busy helping customers.

"All three days blended together, so this is the very first year we've been open at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, the earliest we've ever been open. We were just as busy as years past," said Target manager Nicholas Conway.

Officials say having the store opened for 30 hours gave shoppers more options and the variety of bargains drew them in.

And if you missed out on Black Friday, experts say the best may be yet to come.

"Keep your eye out because I don't think the sales are going to go away. I have a feeling this is going to be another economy year where it's not going to be as good as they were expecting," said Rice.

And with the countdown to Christmas on, experts say many retailers are hoping consumers will find that perfect present in their stores and spend a little extra cash this holiday season.