Black Friday is almost upon us. That special time of the year when people rush out to the stores to spend their money, trample on each other, and get in fights over marked down merchandise, in true holiday spirit.

What are you looking for deals on? Let us know in the comments.

iPads, Tablets and Other Gadgets To Be Hot Items

Research shows that the iPad and other tablets could dominate Black Friday shopping.

In the US, UK and Australia, Apple is having a “special one-day shopping event”. The deals are said to include discounts on iPads, Macs and iPods on Apple’s online store and in retail stores. 9to5Mac claims to have more details from a “trusted tipster”.

Amazon is doing a deal on Saturday, or starting on midnight – Black Friday night: All Windows Phone 7 and select Android devices, for just $.01

Google’s Chromebooks

While not exactly a Black Friday deal, Google did announce a price drop on Chromebooks.

Online Advertising

According to a report from MediaPost, “Retail marketers gearing up for Black Friday spent more of their digital ad budget on paid-search and digital advertising in Q4 2011, compared with the year-ago quarter.”

Foursquare

Foursquare has provided a Black Friday survival guide:

The company says:

On your phone: Tap on the ‘Explore’ tab in the foursquare app and hit the bright orange ‘Specials’ button to find all the deals nearby. Expand the radius (by tapping on the number in the top left) for more deals!

Don’t forget to hit ‘+SAVE’ on ones you want to be reminded about later!

Groupon

Looking for some Black Friday Groupon action? At the time of this writing, Groupon’s shares are down. Wall St. Cheat Sheet says, “investors fear Groupon may not properly navigate the critical holiday season.”

“Groupon has also decided to challenge the norm by not running any Black Friday or Cyber Monday specials unlike its competitor, LivingSocial,” the site says. “Groupon plans to run deals on unique, ‘once in a lifetime’ experiences such as tickets to The Ellen DeGeneres Show, cooking lessons and horseback riding.”

LivingSocial

About those LivingSocial Deals…

As my colleague Josh Wolford reported:

Beginning at 5am, LivingSocial will begin the Black Friday deals, and from there will continue into Saturday, Sunday and into Cyber Monday. There will apparently be a whole new round of deals announced on Monday.

You can check the LivingSocial Black Friday page on Friday for information on the specific deals.

Black Friday Winners?

Drawing from Facebook engagement numbers, SocialBakers reports that Walmart will be the big Black Friday winner this season, followed by Target, Kohl’s, Macy’s, and JC Penney.

Speaking of Kohl’s, they’ve gone the Internet meme route with their latest ad:

SocialBakers shares the following stats:

A report from Nielsen says:

Recent weekly Nielsen surveys of shoppers show that, much like in 2010, the majority of consumers (80%) are avoiding in-store Black Friday shopping. While increased Black Friday promotions appeal to consumer’s desire for “hot deals,” as a shopping event, Black Friday is becoming less relevant in the retail world as online shopping grows and holiday promotions begin earlier and earlier in the year. In fact, 35 percent of those recently survey cited they’ve already started their holiday shopping.

This will be a holiday season polarized between those still feeling the recession and those who have begun to spend again. This divide will greatly impact where consumers shop, what they buy and how much they spend. Of those surveyed, 66 percent plan to spend the same as they did in 2010. Thirty percent plan to spend between $500 and $1,000 this season, with 50 percent planning to spending between $250 and $500?. Only 17 percent of consumers said they planned to spend more than $1,000.

What deals are you looking for on Black Friday? Will you go to the stores or will you simply shop online? Let us know in the comments.