Black Friday shoppers celebrate savings

When the doors closed at Triangle Town Center in Raleigh at 10 p.m. Friday, some stores had been open for 22 hours straight.

Shoppers lined up as Thanksgiving Day gave way to Black Friday. Some shopped, went home to nap and came back out – all in the name of holiday savings.

Stores were offering 30 to 70 percent off, hoping to capture some of the hundreds of dollars to be spent this holiday season.

Terry Freeman shared her technique. "We usually start at one place because we have the coupons, and we'll see what they have and then if they don't have it we'll go somewhere else."

Latoya Rowlett compared prices before she left the house. "You have to get all the sales papers together and do all of your comparing. But it's good. I think this year was good," she said.

Freeman said she was spending less because of lower prices.

Retailers hope shoppers come back and bring their cash well after the Black Friday hustle.

While the National Retail Federation expects individual shoppers to spend a few dollars less this year (about $704 per person), it does expect overall retail sales to go up about 2.8 percent.

"I probably spent more this year actually," said Jennifer Smith of Kinston. "I think the sales are better this year than they were last year."