Early bird specials and marketing gimmicks drew bargain hunters to stores across the country Friday in what retailers hope will be a momentum-building kickoff to the holiday shopping season.

Major retailers as well as several mall operators, said shopper traffic was at least as healthy as the day after Thanksgiving a year ago.

The big question is whether the crowds will keep coming in the next few weeks to boost what is expected to be a lackluster holiday season.

Retailers reported particularly brisk sales of sweaters and outerwear, DVDs and electronic gadgets, and hot toys like Hasbro’s Fur Real Friend, an interactive cat, and Mattel’s Chicken Dance Elmo.

While consumers have helped prop up the economy during the past year, they have been reluctant to splurge amid concern about jobs and stock market losses. A lack of must-have items and the sluggish economy are expected to result in a slow holiday season, which also is six days shorter than last year.

A year ago, a last-minute buying binge helped avoid what many feared would be a sales disaster following the Sept. 11 attacks.

This year, analysts and retailers haven’t seen anything to make them more optimistic.

“Expectations are low. Clearly, there is still considerable amount of uncertainty ” the prospect of war in Iraq and the economy,” said Michael P. Niemira, vice president of Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Ltd.

The National Retail Federation predicts total holiday retail sales, which exclude restaurant and auto sales, will increase by 4 percent to $209 billion. That would make it the weakest increase since 1997.

Amanda Burgess, 17, wades through the crowd of early morning shoppers at Target in Wichita. While nervous retailers kept their fingers crossed, bargain hunters across the country hit the stores as early as 5 a.m. Friday for what is considered to be the busiest shopping day of the year.