[rdtsc]

> To prevent shrinkage and increase product visibility,

Which is also a feature to discourage shoplifting.

[rdtsc]

note: i am an idiot and don't know what "shrinkage" means, disregard this post.

[juiceandjuice]

Shrinkage is shoplifting.

[MattGrommes]

I believe shrinkage is most commonly used by retailers to mean theft by employees. Shoplifting is customer theft.

[sparky]

Shrinkage encompasses all of the above [1]. The retailer I worked at for a few years (::shudder::) used this definition.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrinkage_(accounting)

[juiceandjuice]

Shrinkage is any loss of product, hence shrinkage of inventory.

(I worked at a grocery store for four years, the same company my dad has worked at since 1977)

[Pkeod]

Shrinkage = shoplifting, employee theft, damaged product, vendor fraud, price errors in favor of customers... the hard plastic shell mitigates all of these.

[derleth]

Out of curiosity, what did you think 'shrinkage' meant in that context?

[rdtsc]

Wow yeah I was really confused. English is my third language and I can often figure words that I don't know from the context except that in this case I interpreted 'shrinkage' as some kind of a tendency do produce smaller products (electronics get smaller for instance). And I thought ok it seems a large package makes the product more visible on the shelves. Then I thought "ok" actually a large package would be hard to sneak under one's shirt. So it would be good for that as well.

[fuzzix]

"English is my third language"

I don't think that's the problem - I had no idea what shrinkage is and:

- English is my first language

- I've worked in retail (though I rarely paid attention back then)

[Tooluka]

At first I thought it mean preventing packages from breaking when they are piled one on top of another for storage. To preserve fragile products inside.

[bmelton]

I read the original comment and (before scrolling down) was tempted to chime in that 'in this context, shrinkage means "theft"' before realizing the discussion had already been had.

I could very easily see someone as having read that as physically shrinking in size, perhaps due to compression by repeated handling, as would happen in a store, or heat or other uhhh... harsh environmental factors commonly found in retail establishments. (Sorry, I couldn't think of a second good excuse)