Mostly, what happens when about 80 Occupy Seattle demonstrators carpool Friday afternoon from Westlake Park to picket in front of the Walmart in Renton is that customers glance at them briefly, and then ignore them.

"It's not your purpose in life to be a consumer!" yells one protester at the people going into Walmart.

Another is dressed in all black, including a ski mask and hood, and says to call him, "Anonymous." He's using a megaphone to tell the crowd about being in "solidarity with workers."

The $30 megaphone was made in China. Anonymous says he would have bought a non-Chinese megaphone, if he had found one for sale.

Among the shoppers is a recent immigrant from Somalia, Ali Omer Abdi, 25, and his pregnant wife, Ayaan Omer Abdi, 23. They are carting a crib and mattress they bought on this Black Friday for $150.

The couple lives in an apartment in Tukwila, and the husband works in nursing-home care for $10 an hour.

"I don't have any idea," he answers, when asked what the demonstration is about.

There are at least 400 cars in the Walmart parking lot, maybe closer to 500.

The demonstrators are on a sidewalk by the main store entrance, and although Walmart representatives keep an eye on them, and there are a couple of cops around, they leave the Occupy Seattle group alone.

Earlier Friday at Westlake Park, the demonstrators kicked off their anti-consumerism day with a "free store" to give away such stuff as artwork, CDs, toys and clothes. They pass out "99%" stickers to the curious. It all goes uneventfully at the park, too.

Lee McVey, visiting from Lewiston, Idaho, with his family and carrying an Old Navy shopping bag, is a little sheepish when an Occupy organizer hands him a flier about not shopping. McVey and his wife, Angie, say they aren't clear about Occupy Seattle's message, but Lee McVey says he thinks the protests mark an important time in history, so he wants his kids to see it in person.

His son Jesse Maldonado, 17, has a 99% sticker on his shirt and says he had expected to see more people at the protest.

"I'm all for it," he says. "I think the gap (is too large) between ... those who are going to get a gift and those who are going to get a Mercedes-Benz."

Back at the Walmart, a man named Ralph Harding, 75, of Renton, a retired Boeing electrician, mutters, "A bunch of BS."

He is there with his wife, Shirley, 61, who is battling cancer. The couple has spent $100 at Walmart, mostly for supplies relating to her medical care.

"I will admit Walmart is cheaper for what I need, other than the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, and it's hard for us to make it there," Shirley Harding says.

Her husband says he does think the Occupy Seattle protesters make good points about how Walmart treats its employees, but, he asks, what is the point of protesting here on the sidewalk?

"That's not gonna do anything," he says. Harding adds, "Walmart is so big, and they have mighty big lawyers."

A spokesman for Walmart emailed this statement when asked about the Renton protest:

"Customers know Walmart is focused on serving 'the 99 percent.' We're helping to lower the cost of living for millions of Americans by providing more convenient access to healthy food and making basic financial services more affordable for underserved customers. At the same time, we're creating and supporting some of the best jobs in all of retail."

Sometimes the protesters get puzzled looks from the shoppers.

A 23-year-old protester, who goes by "Brit" and says she works as a barista, explains, "If we all chose to pay a little more, we could shop locally," meaning not buying the cheaper, imported products.

Ryan Castellano, 22, and his wife, Adela, 21, have just spent $80 at Walmart on diapers and other baby supplies. He is looking for a job; she earns $9 an hour working as a food server in a retirement home. "They're trying to keep people from spending money stupidly," the husband says about the protesters.

Sometimes the shoppers get a little confused about who's who on the sidewalk.

Also yelling out stuff is Harvey Ravndal, 22, gathering signatures for Initiative 502. He is very loud.

"Help legalize marijuana!" he yells, and a number of the younger Walmart shoppers are more than glad to sign.

Ravndal says he gets $1 for each signature. He's gotten 100 signatures by early afternoon, he says.

"Can I sign twice?" a young guy asks.

"No," Ravndal says.

The Walmart protest, which started about 2 p.m., lasted a couple of hours, sometimes punctuated with chants of, "Hey, hey, ho, ho, Walmart greed has to go."

The shoppers, meanwhile, keep carting away TVs and similar items.

John Hasselbeck, 23, of Renton, who just spent $60 on glassware, says about Occupy Seattle, "I'm pretty sure they've got something to do with inflation, or something."

Times staff reporter Emily Heffter contributed to this report.

Erik Lacitis: 206-464-2237 or elacitis@seattletimes.com