Lehighton resident Patrice Bjorkman says you have to have a plan for Black Friday shopping.

"If you don't have a plan, you won't make it," she said while loading a trampoline into her car in the Walmart parking lot Thursday night.The superstore opened its doors at 6 p.m. Thursday for early birds looking to catch the freshest deals.The holiday shopping season which begins at Thanksgiving and runs through December is crucial for retailers. It can account for 20 to 40 percent of their annual sales.John Hazel, a longtime Walmart employee, acted as a flagger for the holiday shift.Black Friday shopping has been notorious for shoving matches and fights over specially limited sale items, but according to Hazel the new system is working."We have a good system this year, you get your receipt inside then drive around the building for the big-ticket item to be loaded into your car."The big-ticket item this year, Hazel said, is the large-screen televisions.By 7 p.m., traffic was already heavy with nearly every parking space taken."We've seen about over a hundred," Hazel said. "We've been steady since we opened. It's running smoothly."Ronda Getz of Lehighton said she and husband Thomas and friend Sheila Ahner had been waiting at the store since 3:30 p.m."It was quick. There weren't any fights. It was very relaxed," Ronda said.The Getzes have been Black Friday shoppers for years, "We always do it. We used to drive to Allentown at 2 a.m. Now we start here," Ronda said.The trio still planned to take their shopping marathon to the city. "We're still going tonight to Best Buy, just to look and see what there is to get," Ahner said.Black Friday shopping isn't what it used to be.Online ordering has cut into the traditional Thanksgiving weekend shopping in recent years.Customers are now expected to be visiting retailers' websites through smartphones, desktop computers or tablets during the first weekend of the holiday shopping season that begins on Thanksgiving Day.Mobile traffic during the busiest shopping period of the year is expected to reach 56.9 percent, up from 48.5 percent last year, according to IBM Watson.The cost of popular toys could also be factored into the reason for a more low-key experience in store aisles.The impending release of the new Star Wars movie has impacted holiday purchases with iconic toys topping many children's Christmas lists.The Black Series Kylo Ren Force FX Lightsaber, a revamped 1980s toy weapon that makes light and sound effects comes in at an estimated $200, while the Star Wars Millennium Falcon RC Quad by Spin Master, a remote-controlled version of the famous ship runs about $140.It's not just the beloved movie label that is costing parents hard-earned cash. A robotic unicorn, FurReal Friends StarLily, with a horn that lights up and wings that flutter is about $120 at most retail stores.A plush bear that connects to an app for children, the Smart Toy Bear from Mattel's Fisher-Price, can be customized based on a child's preferences, and will carry a price tag of $100.According to the National Retail Federation an expected 30 million customers will have shopped on Thanksgiving, compared with 99.7 million on Black Friday.Overall it's estimated that about 135.8 million people will be shopping during the four-day weekend, compared with 133.7 million last year.Sales for November and December are expected to rise 3.7 percent to $630.5 billion compared with the same period last year.The Associated Press contributed to this report.