The holiday shopping spree has, more or less, officially started in the US with Black Friday's huge discounts, or just shrewd advertising depending on your point of view, that most retailers are offering today. While people are hitting the stores today, most have already done their homework online well ahead of time, as Google search data shows. Several items seem to be hot with the younger crowd this year, including everyone's favorite vampire saga, Twilight, soundtrack. With the older and more tech-savvy audience, though, the trend is clear, it's all about netbooks.

So what are going to be the most sought-after gifts this holiday season? Google reckons that some of them will be Zhu Zhu Pets, Nerf N Strike, Mindflex, and the Twilight soundtrack and it's got a good reason to think so, searches for these items is seeing a huge growth as the holidays are approaching.

Gadgets are always a favorite gift option, especially with the more 'tech-inclined', and this year people are being safe going with failsafe options like netbooks and mp3 players. The fact that netbooks are so sought after is especially interesting since many experts were sure that the diminutive computers were just a trend and that people will return to their usual buying habits. The data doesn't lie though, it looks like netbooks are set to be the hot gadget this holiday season.

Apart from the specific product searches, there is a rise in more generic shopping-related queries and the economic crisis has taken its toll this year as well with most people looking for good deals online with searches like coupons, promo codes, free shipping, and black Friday sales.

“Retailers are increasingly responding to these deal-seeking shoppers. In fact, 60% of retailers report that they are increasing their promotional efforts during this holiday shopping season,” John Mcateer, managing director of US Sales at Google, wrote. ”And in-store sales are not the only places to save this year. Many of us will opt out of crowded malls in favor of cuddling up to our laptops, and retailers are taking their sales to the web during this traditionally in-store focused weekend. In fact, 40% of retailers are increasing free shipping offers during this holiday shopping season — so watch for those deals both in-store and online!”