Black Friday was looking a little blue yesterday as belt-tightening Big Apple shoppers swore off luxury gifts for others — in favor of the bare necessities for themselves.
In a marked change from years past, coats, sweaters, gloves and scarves — instead of Rolexes and furs — were snapped up at department stores’ early-bird sales, some starting as 5 a.m.
Hundreds braved lines, which began forming Thanksgiving night in some places, around the city to get their hands on the basics.
Joy Donesa, 28, a Manhattan mother of two, said she and her husband had decided to buy a Christmas present for the whole family this year instead of splurging on toys for the kids.
“This is the first time it’s going to be about what the family needs, not toys that will be pushed aside in a week,” said the geriatric-care coordinator, who was hunting at Macy’s for discounted clothes and home electronics.
“Money has been tight for us. We need to take advantage of these sales.”
Cost-conscious shoppers also were looking for a little comfort in these tough times — dishing out dough to indulge themselves.
Hero Choudhury, 32, was beaming as he got his hands on the 46-inch Samsung TV he’d had his eye on for ages.
“It’s for me. I’ve been waiting to get it,” said the Jackson Heights, Queens, cabby, who started waiting in line Thursday night at the Best Buy at Fifth Avenue and 44th Street.
The set usually sells for $2,600, but he was able to score it for a bundle less.
“I’m saving over $1,000 on this big-screen TV. I had to be here for over a day, but it was worth it,” he said.
Sisters Lane and Lace Allenius also used the Black Friday discounts to stock up on treats for themselves.
But the girls waited for the super sales to take effect before shopping for their new Upper East Side apartment.
“Obviously, this is the day to do this kind of shopping,” said Lane, 23, who walked away from Best Buy with a 42-inch TV for $547.99.
At Sears, demand was sky-high for, of all things, a Kenmore washer-dryer combo, discounted to $579 from $1,079.
“It was really popular,” said Sears spokesman Tom Aiello. “We also sold a lot of comforters, also a Kraftsman cordless drill and driver, on sale for $39.99 from $79.99, and Snuggies for $9.99 — we had a hard time keeping them on the shelves.”
At Pricegrabber.com, a price-comparison Web site that tips shoppers to the cheapest deals, the most popular searches were for discounts on staples such as coats, gloves, refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, tools and even auto parts, said company President Lauren Conrad.
“Our Web traffic is up 12 percent — and the biggest jump is among the necessities category. People are buying the things they need,” she said.
Turnout yesterday was expected to be about 10 percent higher than Black Friday in 2008 — when only about 42 percent of Americans hit stores on one of the season’s busiest retail days.
Additional reporting by Shari Logan