Black Friday requires a strategic plan. Perfectly executed timing. And at least one — usually more — stops at Starbucks to refuel with caffeine and recheck the newspaper sale papers.

At least, that’s the way it works for sisters Juanita Marshall and Rebecca Duck.

“You have to have a plan,” said Marshall. When most people were crashing after a festive day of turkey dinners, the two Windsor women mapped out their multi-city shopping plan for Black Friday.

“This year is pretty easy,” said Duck, packing her bargains from Bed, Bath & Beyond in Harbour View into her car. “Last year, we had to wait in line for two hours to pay at Target.”

Even then, they had a plan, Marshall said. As soon as they walked in the door, they grabbed a cart and got in line. While Marshall picked up items on her list, Duck manned the cart. By the time they traded off and both finished up their shopping, they were almost to the cashier.

The two left Windsor around 3 a.m. Friday and by mid-morning, had finished up in Harbour View and Chesapeake Square. They planned to spend the afternoon on the Peninsula, making stops at Bass Pro, Lowe’s and Sears.

“This has been a pretty successful day,” Marshall said. They rushed off, trying to make it into Kohl’s before a sale on a particular item ended at 11 a.m.

Traffic was steady overnight for the major retailers in Suffolk that opened to Black Friday shoppers at 6 p.m. Thursday and stayed open until 10 p.m. Friday. While stores were packed during traditional shopping hours, merchants said they also stayed busy throughout the early-morning hours.

“Televisions, printers, headphones — anything electronic seems to be a hit this year among our shoppers,” said Kohl’s manager Rich Apgar. Approximately 100 people were lined up outside when the Harbour View store opened at 6 p.m. Thursday.

Despite an uptick in online sales nationwide, Apgar says brick-and-mortar stores are holding their own in the retail industry. For example, Kohl’s is able to offer exclusive deals to store customers, he said.

Also, the two shopping modes can tag-team successfully, Apgar said. Customers can place orders online, then pick them up within a couple of hours at the nearest store’s customer service counter.

On the other side of the city, Belk kept its doors open overnight after opening at 6 p.m. Thanksgiving Day. Although the store was consistently busy overnight, shoppers packed the aisles all day Friday.

Shoes and electronics were among the store’s best sellers, according to manager Lisa King.

Although they love a good bargain, Henry and Eileen Plummer of Suffolk said they didn’t try to get to Office Max too early Friday.

“Then we found what we wanted and got out,” Eileen Plummer said.