The Christmas shopping season officially began Friday with large crowds reported at most major retailers. The parking lot at the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Gaffney was well on the way to filling up early Friday. With soaring gas prices now retreating, local retailers expect to cash in this holiday shopping season.

“With gas prices coming down, I do think (the holiday shopping season) will be really good,” Wal-Mart Manager Scot Bowman said. “Our customer counts have been up. We feel very positive. We aren’t looking for double-digit (sales) increases, but moderate increases.”

The official holiday season kicks off today, with most major retailers opening earlier than usual.

Belk at Peachtree Marketplace opened its doors to eager shoppers at 5 a.m.

“This shopping season looks promising,” Belk Manager Jim Tyler said. “We’ve had a strong week so far and if this week is any indication, it is going to be a good (holiday shopping season).”

Retailers like Wal-Mart and Belk aggressively court customers with huge discount sales.

“We have 133 early-bird specials,” Tyler said. “We have items 50 to 60 percent off.”

Early-risers at Wal-Mart found huge discounts, too.

“We have some excellent savings,” Bowman said.

Cash registers at discounters, such as Big Lots, were also expected to be busy today.

“The type of store we are, this season should be good for us,” Big Lots Senior Assistant Manager Carole Hice said.

Patricia Byrd, manager of Prime Outlets — Gaffney, is also optimistic that shoppers won’t cut back on their holiday spending this year.

“We are anticipating large crowds this Thanksgiving weekend,” Byrd said. “With gas prices dropping, we are optimistic that this will infuse our shoppers with more buying power and holiday spirit.”

In addition to flat-screen TVs and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 game system, there doesn’t seem to be any musthave items this season.

But Bowman thinks a Powerwheel Hummer car, along with women’s and men’s apparel, should be strong sellers.

Retailers count on the holidays for about half their annual sales and profits. The day after Thanksgiving is traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year.

The Washington-based National Retail Federation predicts total holiday retail sales, which exclude restaurant and auto sales, will increase by 6 percent over last year.