(New Haven Register (New Haven, CT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Nov. 29--At shopping hubs around the nation Friday, discounts, bargains and the search for them were king.

"I'm being a more mindful shopper, so my husband and I don't duplicate and there's no overabundance," Kristen Shah of Fairfield said Friday morning as she and her friend, Jennifer Loya, looked high and low for the perfect gifts for their children at the KB Toys store in the Westfield Connecticut Post mall in Milford.

"We're not door-busters. Our system is to go out after the early birds, but before the second wave of people," said Loya, also of Fairfield.

Shah said her daughters want Nerf guns after playing with some other children who have them. "We're wandering around seeing if there are any good deals," she said.

Shoppers around the country lined up early outside stores on the day after Thanksgiving in the annual bargain-hunting ritual known as Black Friday. It got that name because it has historically been the day when stores broke into profitability, or "the black," for the full year. Many stores open early and stay open late.

But the excitement over earlymorning specials proved fatal in in Valley Stream, N.Y., on Long Island. And later Friday, two people died when gunfire erupted in a crowded Toys R Us store in Palm Desert, Calif., but authorities were unsure if the shootings were shopping-related or the result of a conflict between rival groups.

Sarah Pacia of Cathedral City, Calif., told The Desert Sun newspaper she was in the store with her two boys, ages 4 and 6, looking at coloring books when she heard a commotion in the next aisle. She thought it was people rushing to get a sale item. Then she heard three or four shots.

She said she froze, and store employees calmly escorted her out of the store.

"This is Toys R Us. There are kids shopping in there," Pacia said. Her son Jayden, 4, was clinging to her leg. He told her he didn't want to die, she said.

Toys R Us officials did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Palm Desert is a resort town about 120 miles east of Los Angeles.

On Long Island, a 34-year-old, temporary Wal-Mart maintenance worker died after a throng of unruly shoppers broke down the doors and trampled him moments after the store opened.

A spokesman for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in Bentonville, Ark., called the death a "tragic situation" and said the employee came from a temporary agency and was doing maintenance work at the store.

Police said the crowd of shoppers knocked the man to the ground at 5:03 a.m., three minutes after the store opened.

He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at about 6 a.m., Nassau County police said. The exact cause of death had not been determined, and the man's name was not released. It wasn't immediately clear how many people pushed their way in, but a metal portion of the door was crumpled like an accordion.

While crowds at the Milford mall were reaching for things, shoppers were more orderly throughout the day.

Loya said that over the past few weeks she has been taking advantage of online coupons and free shipping and handling offers to cut shopping costs.

"Black Friday's not so important anymore," she said.

Brick-and-mortar retailers fighting to remain competitive extended hours and enticed shoppers with discounts and other deals that were deeper and wider than the discounts shoppers found during November.

"We have been absolutely mobbed. Stuff is flying off our shelves," said Stephanie Nemeth, store manager at KB Toys.

Most popular this year have been board games, Incredible Hulk and Barbie product lines and toys by Fisher-Price, Nemeth said.

Bryan Gaus, senior general manager for Westfield Connecticut Post, did not have an exact count of how many consumers entered the mall after the common area stores opened at 6 a.m., but said retailers indicated more shoppers were milling around this year than Black Friday 2007.

"Traffic looks slightly higher than last year. That's encouraging," Gaus said. "The economy is tough right now. Times are tight and our retailers are planning for that. They are being more aggressive with discounts to get customers in to shop."

The first to receive shoppers was JCPenney, which opened at 4 a.m. Macy's followed at 5; Sears and Target opened at 6; while Dick's Sporting Goods and Border's bookstore opened at 7 a.m.

Anil Kalaria, manager of Taco Bell in the mall's food court, said people were lined up to eat as early at 7:45 a.m., 15 minutes after the fast-food outlet opened. "It's a different kind of breakfast," he quipped.

J.D. Piscioneri, 3, climbed on Santa's lap, posed with him for pictures that will grace the family's Christmas cards for a third consecutive year, and asked for all things DoodleBops from the popular Disney Channel show.

Brookstone is among several new retailers at the mall. Store manager Tim Van Asselt said hot items this season are digital photo frames, "nap" products such as soft pillows and blankets, and leather massage chairs.

"Brookstone was one of our most-requested retailers. Normally, they're here during the holidays. They're permanent now," Gaus said.

While taking a coffee break, Nichola Simms and Hepsie Leslie-Abbott, both originally from Jamaica but living in Bridgeport, said the economic downturn would not change their shopping habits this year because they have always been frugal. "We don't do all that extravagant shopping," Leslie-Abbott said.

This year, with rampant promotions of up to 70 percent even at luxury stores like Saks Fifth Avenue, the power of this landmark day for the retail industry could be fading.

Still, while it isn't a predictor of holiday sales, the day after Thanksgiving is an important barometer of people's willingness to spend for the rest of the season. And particularly this year, analysts will dissect how the economy is shaping buying habits in a season that many analysts predict could see a contraction in spending from a year ago.

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