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Retailers offer exclusive products and steep discounts

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Shorter holiday season pressures retailers to maximize

sales

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Inflation affects spending habits, increasing demand for

deals

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

Friday

By Siddharth Cavale

NEW YORK, 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, major U.S. retailers stocked their shelves for Black

Friday with exclusive products and lots of general merchandise

steeply discounted.

As retailers prepare to open as early as 5 a.m. following

the American Thanksgiving holiday, they are hoping more people

seek to close out their shopping lists despite a shorter

timeframe.

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, though its pre-Black Friday discounts began

November 11.

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 on Black Friday 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. on Friday 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 advisor 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 in early hours after American

Thanksgiving. 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 )

Retailers in Europe and elsewhere are also trying to cash in

on the hoopla. In Britain, department store John Lewis is

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 until Nov. 30, while electronics chain Currys ( DSITF )

is offering 171 pounds off Shark cordless vacuum

cleaners.