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FAIRBANKS — A variety of promotions lasting well beyond the door-buster time frame kept a steady flow of shoppers buying at Old Navy on Black Friday.

“We had strong traffic through the day, which was very good,” general manager Luke Allegood said.

The chain’s seasonal specialty, cashmere sweaters in fashionable colors and designs, flew out the door, while shoppers spent money much later into the day than usual.

“We did offer more significant promotions throughout the store,” Allegood said. “Last year, it was more about the first few customers. This year, there was a better variety of promotions.”

Traffic and spending was about on par with previous years, and fit into management’s expectations — which he said was a “pleasant surprise” considering the national economic picture.

The National Retail Federation and other industry analysts were projecting fairly dismal sales for the 2008 Christmas season under the shadow of a sharp economic downturn earlier this fall and serious declines in retail spending through most of November.

Some expected Fairbanks to buck the trend, benefiting from Alaska’s traditional break from national economic conditions. But sales were up across the nation, a surprise gift to retailers that some analysts say is attributable to lower gas costs and spending delays that ended with dramatic deals.

According to the National Retail Federation, more than 172 million shoppers hit stores and Web sites during the weekend, up from 147 million last year. Shoppers doled out more, too. They spent an average of $372.57 this year, up 7.2 percent from last year. Total spending hit an estimated $41 billion.

The industry association’s survey, conducted by BIGresearch, indicated that less than a quarter of Friday’s shoppers were at stores by 5 a.m., while 60 percent were spending by 9 a.m. A majority of spenders perused discount stores, while 43 percent shopped at traditional department stores, up 11 percent from last year.

About 51 percent of Black Friday Weekend shoppers bought clothing or accessories, while 39 percent bought books, DVDs, CDs or video games. About 36 percent spent money on consumer electronics, and 29 percent bought a toy. Shoppers weren’t as enthusiastic about gift cards, buying 10 percent less than they did a year ago.

Not all retailers needed a Black Friday super-sale to kick off a strong holiday season.

The Prospector, an Alaska-owned clothing and gear retailer, traditionally bypasses Black Friday specials in lieu of its super-sale the weekend before Thanksgiving.

The annual bag sale — fit it into the largest Prospector bag and it’s 20 percent off — brought shoppers through the doors en masse, netting sales figures for the weekend significantly higher than last year’s, said Lara Maddox, sales manager for the women’s and children’s floor.

“We were way up,” she said. “It was a wonderful weekend for us.”

More shoppers seemed to be waiting for the bag sale than in previous years, Maddox said.

While the store’s management has been concerned about lagging retail spending following the national economic downturns earlier this fall, the effects of the general slowdown have yet to hit the Prospector’s clientele, she said.

Maddox attributed some of the steady shopping not to gift-buying, but to people looking for quality items to outfit their families for a Fairbanks winter.

“It is something that is absolutely necessary here,” she said. “We have people come in with five children; they realize they need good-quality winter gear for their kids to be out there at 20 below.”

At the same time, holiday shopping season is gearing up. In particular, Maddox said men are browsing the selections, asking for insight with colors and sizes for special women, be they wives or daughters headed home for the holidays.

Shoppers who haven’t started in on their gift lists now have 23 shopping days before Christmas. NRF is projecting more moderate sales for the remainder of the season, with survey respondents saying they’ve completed slightly more of their shopping by now than in years past. In all, NRF expects holiday sales to hit $470.4 billion this year, up 2.2 percent from a year ago.

Contact staff writer Rena Delbridge at 459-7518.