Retailers brace for Black Friday amid shorter selling season, cautious shoppers

By Siddharth Cavale

NEW YORK (Reuters) – From Taylor Swift’s new Eras Tour book priced at $39.99 and sold only at Target (NYSE:), to a $50.99 Jessica Simpson puffer coat at Walmart (NYSE:), 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, which operates 4,700 U.S. stores, opens its doors at 6 a.m., as does Target, with 1,963 stores. Walmart this year is offering a variety of deals on Samsung (KS:) TVs, Dyson vacuum cleaners, Lego and Hot Wheels toys, Levi’s (NYSE:) jeans, and air fryers, though its pre-Black Friday discounts began November 11. 

Target cut prices by $100 on products such as a 75-inch Westinghouse TV and Nintendo Switch (NYSE:) 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 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 (NYSE:) 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 (NYSE:) , Lowe’s (NYSE:) and Home Depot (NYSE:) will open doors at 6 a.m., with Costco (NASDAQ:), 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, and spa services at U.S. department store chain Nordstrom Inc . (NYSE:)

Retailers in Europe and elsewhere are also trying to cash in on the hoopla. In Britain, department store John Lewis (JO:) 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 (NASDAQ:) merchandise until Nov. 30, while electronics chain Currys is offering 171 pounds off Shark cordless vacuum cleaners.