Every year the evil sorcerers who run the toy industry seem to manage to conjure a must-have toy during the holidays that’s in short supply — think Zhu Zhu Pets or Tickle Me Elmo. Since there’s no such toy this year, there appears to be no Hunger Games-style competition in which parents are forced to out-scheme and maul one another to bring home the preordained prize.

The New York Times identifies this instance in which the lack of news becomes news. Parent surveys, a Target spokesperson and an industry analyst all agree that there’s no toy out there producing the frenzied traffic that parents despise and retailers adore.

The retail market has de-emphasized the toy industry as a whole, with imports dropping nearly 10 percent in August and September from those months in 2010. Christmas shopping for little ones is never easy, but the lack of a must-buy prize makes this year’s ordeal easier less painful than most.

No Hit Toy to Brighten Retailers’ Christmas [The New York Times]

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