Robert Djakovic, Staff Photographer

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas as retailers across the country dress up its stores in holiday regalia and slash prices to attract shoppers. Last Friday was the first day of the most profitable time of the year for retailers.

The day after Thanksgiving traditionally marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season. Commonly known as Black Friday, the day when businesses become profitable, it is one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

More than 140 million Americans took part in the Black Friday shopping weekend, spending an average of $360.15, which is an increase of nearly 20 percent from last year, according to the National Retail Federation’s 2006 “Black Friday Weekend Survey,” conducted by market research group, BIGresearch.

While many were still digesting turkey from the day before and sleeping in, determined bargain hunters were up before dawn, waiting in long lines to be among the first shoppers of the day to grab the “doorbuster” deals.

Stores were open even earlier this year – Fashion Valley Mall opened at 6 a.m., Wal-Mart opened at 5 a.m. and more than 120 retail stores in San Diego County opened at midnight on Black Friday, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.

One-third of shoppers arrived at their first destination before 6 a.m., and by 9 a.m., more than half said they had already visited one store, according to the “Black Friday Weekend Survey.”

Past Black Fridays have seen mob-like crowds, trampling each other to get into discount retailers and grab that year’s hot Christmas item – “Tickle Me Elmo,” “Furby” or “Xbox” – or doorbuster deal – $10

gift cards, free hats, etc. – but this year’s shoppers showed more restraint.

I work at a retail clothing store at Fashion Valley Mall, and we spent the week before the big shopping weekend preparing the store and ourselves for the expected crowds. A velvet rope was put in the fitting rooms to accommodate long lines. Managers warned us to leave an extra 30 minutes early to find a parking spot.

I was scheduled to close the store, and when I told a fellow employee, she said, “You’re brave.”

With all the hype, I expected to be mauled by angry customers and buried in clothes by the end of the night.

To my surprise, the day – although busy – went off without an incident. I found a parking space within 10 minutes but was almost involved in a three-car accident in the process.

The store’s traffic reached its peak in the afternoon and seemed to dwindle thereafter. When it was time to close the store, the damage was no worse than any other busy weekend. In the end, the store’s sales goals for the weekend weren’t met, but they surpassed last year’s sales.

Even though the NRF estimates a 5 percent overall increase in holiday sales, some market analysts have said that San Diego County’s spending numbers may be behind the national average because of the cooling housing market, according to the U-T.

Although some retailers in San Diego may see the outcome of the Black Friday weekend as a slow start to the holiday shopping season, according to experts, the busiest days are yet to come. This year, Dec. 23 is expected to be the busiest shopping day of the year, according to the U-T.

After all, Black Friday is just the beginning of much more holiday shopping and skyrocketing sales yet to come.