Several months ago all the pop (soda) companies seemed to be converting to the long, skinny boxes for their 12 pack packaging. Lately I have noticed more of the “old style” packaging returning to the shelves. Is this just a regional thing I am witnessing or is this nation-wide? If they are going back to the old way of packaging, does anyone know why?
I see both package types in Phoenix. The long skinny pack is made so yo can place it in your fridge, rip off the perforated end and have a dispenser. The distinct drawback to this system is that the perforations easly tear before you want them to which makes it awkward to carry the pack where the more square packs don’t seem to have this weakness and IMO are easier to carry.
Another disadvantage of the fridge packs is that they continue to take up the same amount of space on the shelf if you have one can or 12. I prefer to take mine out of whatever box they came in.
Those dispenser boxes are awesome, never a problem with them.
I like the long skinny boxes except for one thing… at the grocery store, they always seem to stack them so that the little perforated hand-grip thing is on the side, not on top. Makes it really hard to grab one off the stack with one hand.
This package appeals to the grocer because it takes up fewer shelf inches than the old style. There are so many brands lately that there’s heavy competition for shelf inches in the soft drink aisle.
I always take my soda, beer, whatever, out of the containers and stack them in the fridge. This just seems more convienent to me. 
Huh? I know you mean something by this, but you’ve lost me. Twelve cans is 12 cans… they take 12 cans’ of space… right? Okay, they’re narrower, but if you stock the same quantity, you lose depth…
But, in the case of having many different brands and types, deep and narrow is better as it allows you to front more brands
Supermarket managers think in terms of inches of shelf space and sales per inch. As whatsittoya 'splained, the new style 12 is about two cans wide, and the old style is 3 cans wide. You can stock three 12s of three brands in the width of two old-style 12s. The big brands always get on the shelf, but the manager has to decide, “Which two, A&W Root Beer, Vernor’s, or Sunkist Orange Soda?” With the skinny box, he can stock all three.