The NPD Group is launching a new Kids Industry Data Service (KIDS) that will provide in-depth insight into purchases made for kids across a comprehensive group of categories, and in light of US retail’s Black Friday tomorrow, the research firm has pulled preliminary stats.

Among parents asked what’s on their child’s holiday wish list, 34% said toys, 15% answered video games, 9% said consumer electronics (with laptops and iPod Touch devices being the most popular), 7% said clothing and 6% answered sporting goods. Other noteworthy categories include footwear, gift cards, books, entertainment and cash.

Among toys, top categories are dolls, vehicles, building sets and arts & crafts. The Top 10 properties specifically coveted are American Girl, Barbie, Disney Princess, Dora the Explorer, LEGO, Pillow Pets, Star Wars, Toy Story 3, Transformers and Zhu Zhu Pets. Within the video game category, Wii and NDS hardware systems are the most requested items, along with the Xbox 360 Kinect.

With toy industry sales up 1% year-to-date, a notable increase given the tough economic climate, NPD says the outlook is positive going into the holidays given consumers are reporting that they’re much less likely to curtail their spending on toys in the next three months. As a result, it is possible for the industry to realize an increase of 3% when total year sales are tallied.