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By James Davey
LONDON, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Britain's shopping streets,out-of-town malls and websites will be awash with discountedgoods on Friday as shoppers chase "Black Friday" deals in aspending frenzy expected to top last year's record level.
Retailers will be hoping the one-off promotions willkick-start Christmas trading after a weak November when,according to an industry survey published on Tuesday, sales grewat the slowest rate in nine months.
That will mean managing the event better than last year,when a surge in low-margin Black Friday sales was followed byweaker-than-expected demand, as shoppers held back in the hopeof more discounts as well as traditional post-Christmas sales.
In the United States, Black Friday, the day after theThanksgiving holiday, was so named because spending would pickup and retailers would traditionally begin to turn a profit forthe year - moving from the red into the black.
Introduced into Britain in 2010 by U.S. online retailerAmazon, the day has developed into an important fixtureof the UK shopping calendar as more and more chains join in.
According to a survey by Barclays, some 77 percent of UKretailers are holding Black Friday promotions.
"Black Friday has grown enormously over the last few yearsand we're now expecting it to be the largest sales event of theyear," said Stuart Ramage, e-commerce director at DixonsCarphone, Britain's largest electricals retailer.
Retail researcher Conlumino is forecasting the event willgenerate UK sales, both in stores and online, of 1.6 billionpounds ($2.4 billion), up 20 percent on 2014.
However, after last year's event caused long queues andsparked brawls in stores as shoppers sought bargains, it may bemore of an online event this year.
Researcher FootFall reckons Black Friday in-store shoppernumbers will be down by up to 4 percent year-on-year, alsoimpacted by some retailers - including Amazon, Argos,Marks & Spencer and Dixons Carphone - elongating BlackFriday activity beyond a single day of discounts.
This year, Amazon is offering more than 7,000 deals over thecourse of a week, while Dixons Carphone is offering over 3,000deals over 10 days.
At Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer, Black Fridaystarted on its website at midnight, while doors will open at 250of its largest stores earlier than normal at 0500 GMT.
The supermarket is offering over 200 electrical,entertainment and mobile products with discounts of up to 70percent. Standout offers include a Digihome 49 inch large screenTV for 199 pounds, saving 150 pounds.
Despite the publicity, some analysts are wary of the impactof the discounts on retailers' pricing power, pointing out thatsome of chains which shunned the event last year, such asclothing retailers Next and Jigsaw, were among the bestChristmas performers.
($1 = 0.6616 pounds) (Editing by Mark Potter)
