Jennifer Aebi, left, and her mom Cydreece Aebi wait in line to buy shoes at JC Penney in Salem early Friday morning, during the day-after-Thanksgiving sales. AP Photo

SALEM (AP) — Clutching shopping bags filled with movies, video games and other presents, Athena Moore appeared a bit bedraggled but pronounced herself pleased with her purchases.

“I’ve been at this since 4 o’clock this morning, hitting all of the early sales. I’m exhausted,” said Moore, who works as a file clerk at a Salem auto dealership.

Throngs of shoppers flooded Oregon’s stores and malls Friday to open the holiday shopping season amid reports of stronger-than-expected growth in the state’s economy. Some said they had found lots of discounted prices as the buying season appeared to get off to a robust start.

In The Dalles, a Bi-Mart store set a goal of $100,000 for the day and reached it by 9 a.m. — three hours after the store opened.

“It’s a madhouse, it’s packed with people,” said Bi-Mart cashier Pamela VanRoekel. She called it the busiest opening day for holiday shopping that she’s seen in the three years she’s worked at Bi-Mart.

The most popular items?

“I see a lot of small appliances and electronics leaving the store,” VanRoekel said.

There was a similar scene at the Circuit City store in southeast Salem. By 4:30 a.m., several hundred people stood in line in a steady rain awaiting the store’s 5 a.m. opening and the chance to buy a discounted laptop computer or other electronic goods.

The reports of large crowds on the first day of the holiday buying season comes only days after state economists issued their latest report showing that Oregon’s economy is humming at a higher level than had been expected.

At the Salem Centre shopping mall postal carrier John McMillian was busy buying jewelry, clothing and electronic goods for his family.

He said it appeared to him that people were ready to spend big bucks this Christmas.

“Look at the crowds. I couldn’t find a parking spot today,” McMillian said. “I don’t know if people are buying beyond their means, but there’s no shortage of people buying things today.”

Similar scenes were reported across the nation.

Still, some Oregon shoppers were feeling a bit cautious.

Tony Nielsen said that despite the latest uptick in Oregon’s economy, he believes there’s a “general malaise” underlying the state and national economies that has him making his Christmas purchases carefully.

“I’m not buying big-ticket this year. I’m mostly buying small personal gifts for my family,” said Nielsen, who who works as consultant for real estate developments.

Others, however, didn’t appear to be holding back.

Kathi Buchta, 57, a nurse at Salem Hospital, said she had been shopping all over town Friday and was finding good deals on clothes, games and other items for her grandchildren’s Christmas presents.

“There are some really good sales today,” Buchta said. “People are out trying to take advantage of that. It’s been pretty busy everywhere I’ve been today.”

Laura Satter, who owns a small business, said also she found “very affordable” prices on a lot of the items she was seeking.

“I got a coat on sale for $27 that was listed at $58,” Satter said.

Despite the large crowds, Moore, the Salem file clerk, said that shoppers seemed more polite Friday than in recent years.

She remembers people jostling to get in line to buy the “Tickle Me Elmo” doll that was all the rage in 1996.

“I saw people get into fistfights over that toy,” Moore said.