"Holistic Margin Management": What General Mills Calls Grocery Shrink Ray

Guess what they call the Grocery Shrink Ray at General Mills? “Holistic Margin Management.” I thinks that’s also what they call it in 1984. Another interesting fact from a StarTribune article looking at shrinking packages: customers are more likely to notice a change in the height rather than the width of a box. But does anyone really care?

While we’ve done many shrink ray posts, I’ve wondered how much the non-Consumerist-reading population has noticed. Well, an October ’07 survey found 47% of consumers said they noticed packages were becoming more diminuative. Since the pace, and the coverage, of shrinking packages has greatly increased since then, that number surely must be higher. Don’t forget to compare unit prices!

Freshly squeezed: The ever-shrinking box and carton [StarTribune] (Thanks to al koholic!) (Photo: Mykl Roventine)

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