St. Charles retailers say Black Friday turnout was a success despite a troubled economy. Shoppers piled into the Target store at 3885 E. Main Street and the Wal-Mart at 150 Smith Road in eastern St. Charles during the early morning hours seeking deals.

Katie Russom, executive team leader at Target said sales were better than expected. Among the popular items were television deals, video games, iPODs and children’s toys.

“We’ve had a better than expected turnout,” Russom said. “We’ve been very steady the entire day.”

Target opened at 6 a.m. to anxiously waiting customers, while Wal-Mart opened at midnight Thanksgiving night and store sales became official at 5 a.m.

“It’s been a good day,” said Mike Doolin, St. Charles Wal-Mart store manager. “It’s been busy all day.”

Parking lots remained full well into the afternoon.

Many customers continued to purchase the same quantity of gifts, but pursued bargains harder.

“We looked at the ads a lot closer and paid a little more attention to sales,” said Jennifer Fulkerson of St. Charles. “We were really just scrummaging for deals his year a lot more than in the past.”

Some customers said they’ve resorted to other methods to cut costs. Kathy McCartney of Winfield said her family has used a grab bag system where each member of her family buys one gift for another person instead of each person purchasing gifts for every family member.

“We’ve kind of changed things this year,” she said.

However not everyone felt the economic pinch.

Denise Martinez of Elburn said after completing her shopping at Target that this year, she kept the same shopping agenda. She said she and her husband have steady jobs and no financial worries.

“I feel no effect except what I hear on the news,” Martinez said.