Black Friday is still a draw for shoppers across the state, but a sputtering economy kept crowds smaller than in years past, unless you cater to Massachusetts shoppers.

Traffic jams failed to materialize in Manchester and the Seacoast. But in Salem, bumper-to-bumper traffic turned a normal five-minute ride into a 20-minute crawl.

This is the first Christmas season during which Bay State residents will pay a 6 1/4 percent sales tax if they shop within Massachusetts' borders. Until last August, the rate had been 5 percent.

"People are going out and watching their dollar bills," said Charles Maraganis, a Dracut, Mass., resident shopping at the Mall at Rockingham Park. "Living on the border helps a lot. For us in Massachusetts, it saves us a lot of money."

Job worries were clearly on shoppers' minds as many sought big bargains on TVs and practical gifts.

Michelle McHale of Northbridge, Mass., said she was looking for deals. She spends on lot on her children and wants them to have a good Christmas, she said.

"You're trying to get the best gifts, what your kids want," said McHale, who spoke at the Best Buy in Salem. "They don't understand that mommy and daddy don't have money. So if you have to drive an hour, you do it."

At the Best Buy store in Newington, more than 600 shoppers were standing in line at 5 a.m. when the store opened.

General manager J.J. King said the shopping was "pretty brisk" compared with last year's turnout, with people pouring in throughout the day. King said the Sony E-Reader was flying off the shelves.

In Manchester, mall traffic was tame. There were no highway backups at the South Willow Street exits yesterday morning. Traffic on South Willow Street flowed freely, and parking lots were busy but not full.

Downtown Manchester was nearly deserted at noon yesterday.

Deals drew shoppers to the Fox Run Mall, but not as early as senior marketing manager Linda Frink would have expected. Frink said she thought discounts were deeper this year than they were last year.

"If (retailers) don't offer the discounts and sales, they are not going to get the shoppers," she said.

Many shoppers said the crowds were not as bad as they anticipated.

"It is not as busy as it was last year," said Donna Palmer of Alfred, Maine.

Debbie Snow of Canterbury started her shopping marathon about 3:30 a.m. at the Concord Walmart. She and her sister arrived at the Mall of New Hampshire about 7 a.m.

Vicki Robichaud, left, of Epsom, wears a Santa hat with Linda MacDonald of Pittsfield while shopping during Black Friday at Walmart in Hooksett. (THOMAS ROY)

"We found a great parking space, but we did have to drive around some to find it," she said.

After the mall visit, they were planning to go to Toys R Us and then maybe to Big Lots, Snow said. Snow expected to do about the same amount of shopping as she has done in the past.

Black Friday is so named because it's the day shoppers are expected to push stores into "the black," or profitability. But the weekend doesn't provide a forecast for the rest of the season, which accounts for as much as 40 percent of annual sales and profits for many stores.

Conventional wisdom says stores need to perform well for the traditional start because chances are slim they'll be able to make up for lost sales for the rest of the season.

Emily Hoang, director of marketing at the Mall at Rockingham Park, said sales were strong yesterday morning.

"The attitude among shoppers is different this year. The attitude is positive and much more calm than last year," she said.

Deals are more important than ever, and the mall offered "Shop Smarter" guides, which listed savings by store both online and in print. By noon, most of the fliers were gone, she said.

The Lovejoy family ventured out this year for their first Black Friday, in part because their children wanted to experience the frenzy.

"I think it is pretty crazy how many people get up that early in the morning to get a few gifts," said 11-year-old Zach Lovejoy.

New Hampshire Union Leader correspondents Gretyl Macalaster and Derrick Perkins contributed to this report.