Michele Rothstein, senior vice president of Chelsea Property Group, a division of Simon Property Group, said the firm's outlet centers had early openings on Saturday and Sunday. She said preliminary traffic reports were positive as consumers swarmed in early to hunt for bargains.

Rothstein said many of the company's outlet stores opened at midnight on Black Friday. "Shoppers lined up several hours before," she said. "At

Filene's Basement in Boston offered a scratch-card promotion from 6 a.m. until noon where customers found out at the register if they'd gotten from 10 percent up to 50 percent off their entire purchase.

Hours after the promotion wrapped, crowds still jammed the store, trying on clothes right in the aisles and pulling goods off mannequins. Cold-weather accessories, contemporary denim and designer sportswear were the biggest sellers, observed a sales associate.

— With contributions by Rachel Brown and Marcy Medina, Los Angeles; Kate Bowers, Boston; Rusty Williamson, Dallas; Georgia Lee, Atlanta, and Evan Clark, Washington

PHOTOS BY Danny Acres; Pasha Antonov; Tyler Boye; Jimi Celeste AND Nan Coulter