Black Friday shoppers were shell-shocked by the stock market crash last year. Yesterday, it seemed they were getting back to form - even if still counting every spare dime.

Holiday gift hounds swarmed malls and discount stores for the official start of the shopping season, a year after they helped cannonball one of the worst holidays on record for retailers.

In a somewhat hopeful sign, customer counts early in the day were up over last year at several major malls.

But some customers said stores seemed less crowded than last year and sales were scarce, proving that only time will tell how the season goes against a backdrop of 10.2 percent national unemployment.

"I'm the beast of burden - I carry everything," declared Jerome Mead, 59, of Bristol, as he lugged seven bulging bags to the family SUV at the King of Prussia mall. It was his second dump-off since arriving before sunrise with the family.

"This is a tradition that my wife and I and daughter have been doing for three years," said the steel distribution manager, joyful in his role as designated mule. "Come to King of Prussia mall in the morning - and shop till you drop."

But shop, he and others said, with that most tempering of currencies - cash - as opposed to that temptress of consumption - credit. And if not, then with a sharp eye toward bargains. In this economy, they said, it would be foolish to do otherwise.

"There's so much insecurity," said Mead, who with his wife planned to spend the same on gifts as last year - consistent with industry forecasts. "Yes, we both have jobs, but there's five million less manufacturing jobs in this country over the last 10 years."

Known for enticing early-morning throngs with tantalizing discounts on hot items in limited supply, retailers such as Old Navy, Target, Toys R Us, and others did just that.

Shoppers, in Pavlovian form, responded in kind. But it would require considerable patience and luck to make off with the promised goods.

At the Old Navy store at Cherry Hill Mall, Amanda Smith spent 20 minutes standing in line late in the morning for two pairs of jeans selling for $15 apiece - one of the store's big promotions.

"I almost gave up," Smith, 23, of Pennsauken, said of the long checkout line, which snaked to the rear of the store. "But it was worth it."

It was so trying at another Old Navy, at the Marple Crossroads Shopping Center in Springfield, Delaware County, that an otherwise fearless mother-and-daughter shopping duo left behind piles of unpaid merchandise after their checkout line advanced only a few feet during a 45-minute wait.

Instead, proving that the customer is always right, Brenda Dwinal, 55, of Bethlehem, Pa., and daughter Katie Kupstas, 30, of Drexel Hill, dashed off to a competitor: the King of Prussia Wal-Mart, where they spent $287.

They waited in line for a half-hour to get inside, but after scooping up $2 DVDs, a $78 Blu-Ray DVD player, and other gifts, checkout was a breeze and they flew out of the store.

"They were very organized," said Dwinal, who would later wrestle with no fewer than six bags as she, Kupstas, and niece Julie Boring, a Pennsylvania State University undergraduate, charged through the King of Prussia mall like infantry soldiers lugging gear to battle.

"We only go after the doorbusters," said Kupstas, referring to the name for early-morning sales. "I don't get it if it's not on sale."

Industry analysts have warned that such sales may not be as pervasive this year. Retailers generally are stocking minimal inventory so they can sell what they have at higher prices, rather than getting stuck with overstuffed clearance racks at season's end.

Evidence of this was apparent to shopper Jesse Cohen yesterday in Center City. The 30-year-old lawyer plied Walnut Street and found the gift he wanted for his paralegal. He wouldn't say what he bought - for fear of spoiling the surprise - but the provenance was emblazoned on the shopping bag he carried - Coach (nice boss).

Nevertheless, he was less than thrilled with his Black Friday experience.

"I expected a lot more people and a lot more sales," he said. When he picked out the gift for his paralegal, he asked if it was on sale.

"No," the sales clerk said.

"But it's Black Friday," Cohen protested.

"Nothing is on sale," she told him.

He bought the present anyway, but left feeling disappointed, and his mood descended further as he and his friend Robyn Lewison ventured farther past the shops in the subdued downtown shopping district.

"There aren't any decorations," said Lewison, who owns a marketing company.

"It's like a regular Friday," added Cohen.

Lewison, bundled in mink against the brisk wind, said she planned to avoid shopping in stores, preferring instead to give cash gifts.

"Cash for the doorman. Cash for the parking garage. Cash for my niece. Maybe some wine for friends," she said.

Even for those who are relatively well off, she said, the economic clouds are making everyone more cautious.

"If they don't cut down on the value of their gifts," Lewison said, "they're going to pare down the number of people on their lists."

at 215-854-2431 or mpanaritis@phillynews.com.