WEST SPRINGFIELD -- The mother-and-daughter team of Cindy Kelley and Katie Medina found everything they needed on Black Friday at the Kohl's department store on Riverdale Road in West Springfield.
And they did it shopping at the relatively civilized time of 9 a.m.
"We still got the deals," Kelley said. "And I cooked yesterday. I needed a break. We won't be doing any of this midnight shopping."
They have traveled each year from Templeton to hit the Holyoke Mall at Ingleside.
"Then we found out there is Kohl's here, so we go to both now," Medina said.
Stores in Massachusetts opened shortly after midnight Friday, a bow to the blue laws that keep most retailers in the state closed on the Thanksgiving holiday. In Connecticut, as in most of the country, stores opened at 4 or 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.
The West Springfield Kohl's had hundreds lined up when doors opened at midnight, assistant manager Sarah Goff said. The first 100 people got free movie tickets as a gift.
"It was busy," Goff said.
By mid-morning, the traffic had died down to a steady flow. Lines at the registers, a major concern for retailers looking to keep customers' nerves from fraying, were flowing nicely.
Goff said that a total of more than 200 staffers would cycle on or off shift as the day progresses. The store won't close until midnight tonight.
Early morning crowds were strong at Holyoke Mall.
"It's been steady," said spokeswoman Lisa Wray. "It was extremely busy at 12:30 when the entrances opened."
Having to wait until midnight, hours after Connecticut, doesn't hurt business, she said.
"I think some people went there and then came here afterward," Wray said.
Consumer confidence in the economy is down, according to The Conference Board. But holiday spending by consumers could grow 4 to 5 percent or more this year, according to projections prepared by the American Institute for Economic Research in Great Barrington.
On Friday, computer company Adobe Systems estimated that Americans will spend $1 billion on Black Friday alone. Researchers at ChannelAdvisor said total online shopping at sites like Amazon.com is up 15 percent year-over year.
As for the mother-daughter team, daughter Katie Medina is afraid they might have to shop a little harder next year because by then they'll be a mother-daughter-grandchild team.
"So we'll need to go to toy stores," she said.