David Ellis needed a depth finder.
So at 2 a.m. on Friday, he pulled into the parking lot of the Bass Pro Shops in East Ridge. There were at least three other cars already there, he said, including one whose owner said he got there at 9:30 the night before. At 3:30 a.m., Ellis saw someone go stand in front of the store's entrance, so he got out of his car and did the same.
"This is my first time," he said waiting in line before the store opened.
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By 5 a.m., when Bass Pro opened its doors, Ellis and the other early risers were at the front of a fast-growing line that stretched halfway down the parking lot. Shoppers said they were there for rifles, binoculars, fryers or Christmas gifts, and didn't mind the early hour or the smattering of rain that came through the area in the early morning.
The first 250 people in the door were handed red gift cards loaded with a mystery amount, but the supply ran out long before the line did.
Bass Pro employee Cassandra Jennings was stationed at the turnstiles, counting shoppers as they came in "like a deacon in church," she joked. It took 12 1/2 minutes for everyone in line to be let inside.
After the initial rush, Jennings checked the metal tally counter in her right hand.
"Four hundred and 25," she said.
Though several Hamilton County stores still saw long lines of early morning shoppers on Friday, retail workers said Black Friday crowds have become smaller and less frenzied in recent years, as more people turn to online shopping. Friday followed that trend, workers said.
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"I don't know if there's anywhere that's gotten like, crazy crazy," Nate Roach, who manages the Best Buy on Gunbarrel road, said at the store Friday, "because you know, a lot of places are getting away from doorbusters."
Darlene Wagner, working her eighth Black Friday at Bass Pro, remembered the days when people would camp out in tents on Thanksgiving just to get in the doors first. On Friday, there were no tents in sight.
"I think now a lot more people are cautious about spending," Wagner said Friday. "I'm right there with them, you know? I think we all are."
For many, Black Friday is the one time of year they can afford pricey items like TVs, appliances or firearms. This year, rising prices thanks to inflation may have made the one-day deals even more appealing.
A Chattanooga Times Free Press survey of Hamilton County voters conducted earlier this month found that 40.5% of voters believe their personal finances are worse now than a year ago, compared to 18.3% who said their financial situation has improved in the past year. Another 40.8% said they hadn't noticed a change.
Chris Swartout, a first-time Black Friday shopper, said he waited to buy a laptop until the post-Thanksgiving sale. He left the store with a new computer around 5:45 a.m. before heading to Walmart.
"Just trying to save a little bit," he said as he left Best Buy on Friday.
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While some people lining up to shop in Hamilton County said they were counting on Black Friday sales to make big purchases, many said they were looking for nonessentials like clothes and Christmas gifts or simply going to shop for the experience.
"It's not like we're looking for one thing. We just like to shop and see what they're offering, what kind of deals you can get," Colette Delacy said while waiting at the end of a long line to get inside Belk at Hamilton Place.
At the Hamilton Village Walmart, the line to snag a TV wound through the store's electronics section and down an entire aisle at 6 a.m., shortly after the store opened.
Sheila Notaro said she took advantage of Walmart's deal on Roomba vacuums, snagging one for half the usual price. Even if she didn't need a vacuum, Notaro said, she and her family likely would still have made the early morning trip.
"It's mostly tradition at this point," Notaro said. "Usually we have matching shirts."
Contact Ellen Gerst at egerst@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6319. Follow her on Twitter @ellengerst.