Thin crowds of inflation-weary consumers hunted for Black Friday deals at stores in big cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and other locales, marking the start of a U.S. holiday shopping season crucial to retailers in an uncertain economy.

About 166 million people were planning to shop from Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday through this coming "Cyber Monday," according to the National Retail Federation, almost 8 million more than last year. But with sporadic rain in some parts of the country, stores were less busy than usual on Black Friday.

There were no lines outside stores at the American Dream mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey. A Toys 'R' Us employee was handing out flyers with a list of Black Friday "door buster" promotions.

Meanwhile, online sales are expected to reach between $9 billion and $9.2 billion this Black Friday, a report from Adobe Analytics showed. The projection is slightly ahead of the company's earlier forecast of $9 billion, representing a modest 1 percent increase from last year.

According to Adobe, U.S. shoppers spent nearly 3 percent more online on Thanksgiving Day, with purchases made on mobile phones driving the increase. Adobe Analytics, which measures e-commerce by tracking website transactions, has access to data covering purchases at 85 percent of the top 100 internet retailers in the country.

Wary consumers

Americans, especially from low-income households, are expected to cut back this year as inflation and higher energy prices pinch spending power. Europe's retailers face a worsening cost-of-living crisis and the distraction of the soccer World Cup.

Retailers are offering steep discounts both online and in stores, which may pinch profit margins in the fourth quarter.

Consulting firm Kearney said its checks showed apparel retailers were the most active with sales, offering as much as 60 percent off on merchandise. TV sets and electronics also bore strong discounts to tempt consumers who have been tightening their purse strings.

"It's hard to tell how Black Friday is panning out so far," said Michael Brown, a partner at Kearney. "We have to look at the whole holiday season. The slowness in purchasing might get pushed out to Cyber Monday or further."

(Source: Reuters with edits)