*

Retailers offer exclusive products and steep discounts

*

Shorter holiday season pressures retailers to maximize

sales

*

Inflation affects spending habits, increasing demand for

deals

*

Some U.S. stores to open as early as 5 a.m. on Black

Friday

(Adds details from Europe in paragraphs 3-6)

By Siddharth Cavale, James Davey and Helen Reid

NEW YORK/LONDON, Nov 29 (Reuters) - From Taylor Swift's

new Eras Tour book priced at $39.99 and sold only at Target ( TGT ), to

a $50.99 Jessica Simpson puffer coat at Walmart ( WMT ), marked down

from $84.99, retailers in Europe and the U.S. offered

bargain-hunting shoppers exclusive products and steeply

discounted general merchandise on Black Friday.

As retailers prepare to open as early as 5 a.m. after the

American Thanksgiving holiday, they are hoping more people seek

to close out their shopping lists despite a shorter timeframe.

Retailers in Europe threw open their doors first, with

British department store John Lewis offering reductions of up to

300 pounds ($381) on Samsung TVs, 210 pounds off Nespresso

coffee machines and up to 50 pounds off Apple merchandise.

London-listed consumer electricals retailer Currys ( DSITF ),

which is offering 171 pounds off Shark cordless vacuum cleaners,

said popular products so far were Sony's ( SONY ) PlayStation 5,

air fryers, retro tech such as Polaroid cameras, beer pumps,

pizza ovens and tumble dryers.

"The reason I am here is that I think everything is so

overpriced," said Kate Isaienko, 26, while browsing in a Zara

store on Oxford Street, one of London's main shopping

districts.

Isaienko, who took a day off work to hit the sales, said

clothes prices had increased significantly at Zara since she

moved to London from Ukraine and that she was looking to take

advantage of discounts.

In the U.S., Walmart ( WMT ), which operates 4,700 U.S. stores,

opens its doors at 6 a.m., as does Target ( TGT ), with 1,963

stores. Walmart ( WMT ) this year is offering a variety of deals

on Samsung TVs, Dyson vacuum cleaners, Lego and Hot Wheels toys,

Levi's jeans, and air fryers, although its pre-Black Friday

discounts began Nov. 11.

'SPONTANEOUS PURCHASES'

Target ( TGT ) cut prices by $100 on products such as a 75-inch

Westinghouse TV and Nintendo Switch gaming console, as well as

more than 50% off Barbie dolls, Keurig coffee machines and

KitchenAid mixers, deals which started on Thanksgiving and run

through Saturday. Target ( TGT ) is selling exclusive "Wicked"-related

products, including "Wicked" soundtrack CDs for $39.99 with an

offer of buy two get one free for Target Circle members.

The National Retail Federation, a U.S. retail trade group,

expects roughly 85.6 million shoppers to visit stores this year,

up from 76 million last year. Shoppers have only 26 days between

Thanksgiving and Christmas; last year, they had a more leisurely

31 days.

Adding pressure for retailers is inflation-fatigued

shoppers' reluctance to splurge unless they get good deals.

While most U.S. retailers are closed on Thanksgiving, some

like J.C. Penney will open as early as 5 a.m. to give shoppers a

holiday shopping head start. Best Buy ( BBY ), Lowe's

and Home Depot ( HD ) will open doors at 6 a.m., with Costco

, TJ Maxx, Ikea and Sephora opening between 7 a.m. and

10 a.m., according to local store postings.

"With fewer days to shop, consumers are more likely to make

spontaneous purchases, contributing to retail growth during the

holiday season," said Marshal Cohen, chief retail adviser at

Circana.

Black Friday marks the start of the Christmas shopping

season and is known for crowds lining up at big-box stores for

"doorbuster" discounts. But it has lost its luster as more

Americans shop online, a trend that accelerated by the pandemic.

Major brick-and-mortar retail chains plan to showcase

interactive products and experiences, including Ray-Ban

augmented-reality glasses, extra-extra-large TVs at electronics

retailer Best Buy ( BBY ), and spa services at U.S. department store

chain Nordstrom Inc. ( JWN )