If you open, they will come. And indeed, they did.

Customers flocked to shopping malls even earlier this year, sacrificing part of their Thanksgiving day to get a jump on Black Friday bargains.

The earlier-than-ever Thanksgiving openings resulted in robust sales and consistent traffic for the state’s largest retailers.

"There were tons of people waiting to get in, and once we opened the doors, almost all the stores had a line," said Pearlridge Center’s general manager Fred Paine. "I had a hard time just navigating the common areas because there are just so many people. It just feels more vibrant, more energy, more people. I’m very encouraged that this will be a great holiday season."

Paine is predicting 8 to 10 percent growth in Black Friday sales this year, compared with 2 to 4 percent increases in the past few years.

The mall’s Toys R Us, which limits the number of customers in the store to 350, opened at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving. By 10 p.m. Thursday there was still a line spanning about 300 feet, Paine said.

Meanwhile, Ala Moana Center was at capacity by about 1 p.m. Friday with strong sales reports from retailers, many of which upped the ante with greater promotions, said Scott Creel, the mall’s senior marketing manager.

"What helped us the most is the fact that we had Macy’s opening on Thursday and more than 60 stores open at midnight. Macy’s opening at 8 (p.m.) with door-busters brought in easily thousands of people," he said. "We probably had as much, if not more, traffic as last year because we’ve got a longer selling period. It took the pressure off people trying to fulfill their shopping within a typical 15-hour day. It added another six hours to the shopping day."

Last year Ala Moana had half as many stores open at midnight, he added.

"The competition out there is stepping up their game," Creel said. "More and more stores are opening earlier to be more competitive."

There’s more pressure on retailers this year because the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is six days shorter than in 2012.

Once Best Buy in Iwilei opened its doors at 6 p.m. Thursday, there was a consistent flow of traffic through Friday, said general manager Sean Oliver.

"It did help us opening earlier from a competitive edge," he said. "Instead of having this one initial rush like we’ve done in the past, it allowed things to kind of spread out a little bit. It allowed customers to come back and shop or shop later. It helped kind of alleviate a lot of the initial overcrowdedness that we would have in the past."

The day after Thanksgiving traditionally has been the kickoff to the holiday buying season, with stores opening as early as midnight. But over the past several years, merchants have pushed opening times into Thanksgiving as they seek to capture a greater share of holiday spending. This year retailers such as Best Buy, Walmart, Kmart, Sports Authority, Macy’s, Sears, Target and Ross Dress for Less, reacting to consumer demand and the pressure from competitors, started door-buster deals on Thursday.

Kris Ralleca and his girlfriend had their shopping cart loaded with electronic items at Best Buy by 5 a.m. Friday.

He was at Best Buy looking for a desktop computer for his father. "I spent two or three days looking online," he said, before he finally settled on a model.

"It’s a good deal for consumers," Ralleca said, referring to Black Friday sales. "I got to save at least $300."