Thousands of shoppers lined up at Macy’s, Best Buy and other stores nationwide to buy everything from toys to tablets on Black Friday despite the economic downturn and some planned protests of the shopping holiday.

Some stores had crowds rushing in when they opened their doors at midnight — several hours earlier than they normally do on the most anticipated shopping day of the year. A few that opened on Thanksgiving Day even were filled with shoppers.

The openings were mostly peaceful, but Los Angeles authorities say 20 people at a local Walmart store suffered minor injuries when a woman used pepper spray to gain a “competitive” shopping advantage shortly after the store opened on Thursday evening.

In Fayetteville, N.C., police are looking for two suspects after gunfire erupted early Friday at Cross Creek Mall. Adding to that, there are planned protests in places like Chicago and Washington, D.C. to get people to reconsider shopping at national chains on Black Friday.

Elsewhere, about 600 shoppers were in line at a Target store in Brooklyn in New York when it opened at midnight. By the time it opened at midnight, nearly 2,000 shoppers wrapped around a Best Buy store in St. Petersburg, Fla. And more than 9,000 people were outside the flagship Macy’s store in New York’s Herald Square at its midnight opening.

A record number of shoppers could head to stores across the country to take advantage of deals of up to 70 percent during the kickoff to the holiday shopping weekend.

For three days starting on Black Friday, 152 million people are expected shop, up about 10 percent from last year, according to the National Retail Federation. That’s good news for retailers, many of which depend on the busy holiday shopping season for up to 40 percent of their annual revenue.

“It’s the literal, physical and emotional start to a very big period for us,” said Mike Vitelli, Best Buy’s president.

To draw in crowds, merchants pulled out of their bag of tricks. Some began offering to match the prices of competitors and rolling out layaway programs. Others like Best Buy, Abercrombie & Fitch, Target and Kohl’s opened at midnight. The Gap and Toys R Us even opened stores on Thanksgiving.