The local Taste of China shop has a curious and admittedly thrifty way of displaying availability of certain foods. They stick empty packets of chips to the wall near the counter. I've never seen this done anywhere else, not even in my home country.
How did this method evolve? Just as a thought out of nowhere, that it could be done this way? Or was it a step-by-step evolution; 'we need to tell the customers that they can buy chips here. Our packets need to be displayed prominently. But there is no space to place them. Let's put them on the wall. I don't want the cost of putting up a shelf just for that. Let's just stick them there. But they fall off/look ugly. Let's put up the empty bags' Or was it just a natural outcome of the way things are done by the Chinese, with a focus more on the functionality than on aesthetics? The bags do not look attractive at all, and there were 'only' about 5-6 brands. One would have to look at their sales of chips to see if this method works.
The contrast with other outlets, like Subway, is very stark. They place their wide range of side products almost straight into the hands of the customer - easy to reach and pick up, sometimes even outside the line of sight of the store clerks. Victory for the American way of marketing?
