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Black Friday can be crazy unless you have a plan. Here's where to go and what to buy for deep discounts. Getty Images

Black Friday is quickly approaching. Do you have a plan? Americans across the nation will descend upon department stores the night and day after Thanksgiving, and only the ones who come prepared will leave victorious. After you highlight all your desired items in the catalogues, draw up an itinerary with these tips.

JCPenney has the highest average percent discount, followed by Kohl's and Stage stores, according to a recent WalletHub survey. Groupon, Belk and Macy's follow, all with average discounts of 50 percent or more, so make sure to visit them first. Skip Costco and Sam's Club, both of which came in at the bottom of the list with average discounts of only 20 percent. WalletHub found that jewelry overall had some of the highest discounts, followed by books, movies, music, apparel and accessories. About 68 percent of items will have a significant discount on Friday, which means, yes, it is probably worth waking up early.

At least you'll be in good company. The National Retail Federation predicted that about 135.8 million people will shop over the holiday weekend, which includes Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday.

“The importance of Thanksgiving weekend to both retailers and consumers will never change. However, retailers have already given consumers several good reasons to start their holiday shopping earlier,” President and CEO Matthew Shay said in a press release. “We suspect early holiday shoppers could still be on the fence about whether or not to try their hand at finding online and in-store deals Thanksgiving weekend.”

Forbes picked out Best Buy's iPad Air 2 deal -- 16GB for $99 -- and Staples' iPad Mini 2 -- 16GB for $239 -- as the best tablet deals. Target shoppers can get a $100 gift card with Apple Watch purchases, and Walmart customers can score $200 in savings when they buy any iPhone. On the other hand, if you're trying to pare down your list, NerdWallet found that older models of Apple products were the best bargains on Black Friday.

Nab gaming bundles and TVs, but wait to buy bedding and Christmas decorations. Above all, don't stress if you miss out: It's the thought that counts.