• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, December 8, 2010

With chains like Walmart, Target and Toys R Us continually slashing toy prices, shoppers are heading to the malls fully focused on the mission: The right toy at the right price, or they walk.

A new study from the NPD Group says that this year, 62% of buyers leave home knowing precisely what toy they want to buy for their kids, and 77% of those know exactly where they intend to purchase it. And if the toy they want isn't in stock, 42% say they'd head to another store and 9% would look online. Just 22% say they would look for a different product, the Port Washington, N.Y.-based market research company reports.

The good news is that this year, there just aren't any toys that have achieved anything close to Tickle Me Elmo status. "We are hearing that there are some out-of-stock issues with Squinkies and Dance Star Mickey, but not like years past," Jonathan Samet, publisher of Toy Insider/Toy Book, tells Marketing Daily. "There really isn't a Zhu Zhu pet this year."