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Hitwise has released some data taking a look at search queries of holiday shoppers looking to locate hard-to-find gifts online. You know, those toys that are in demand. Every holiday season has (at leas) one. Once upon a time it was the "Tickle-Me Elmo". Last year it was the Nintnedo Wii. This year it's...well, still the Nintendo Wii, among some others. The top ten search terms with the words "in stock" in them according to Hitwise are as follows:

"Scarcity seems to make the heart grow fonder, so the demand for hot products always translates into searches to locate any retailers that may have the product in stock," writes Heather Dougherty of Hitwise. "The Wii game console has been the holiday challenge over the past few seasons and now the Wii Fit game has also become a hot commodity, with both appearing among the top 10 ‘in-stock’ searches."

"Bakugan Battle Brawlers" are also in demand this year. These are based on a Japanese anime series, and are driving lots of traffic to online shopping and classified sites.
 

While Dougherty notes that "Bakugan" does apear in a number of "in stock" searches, it is absent from the top ten list so far. Wii is apparently just too dominant a force to reckon with for yet another year. eBayers are still making a killing on them.