Comparing us with Europe.

As consumers travel, they see innovations that change expectations for packages here at home. This summer, I visited Italy and Germany with my daughter and one of my granddaughters at the height of the World Cup frenzy. Some of what we observed and experienced:

Servings and packages are smaller. Cans of soft drinks seem to be half the size of ours. Even the cup holders that drop from the seatbacks of (German airline) Lufthansa planes are designed to hold smaller cans and tumblers than we have come to think of as normal. The cups and cones of gelato that Italians seem to eat many times a day on hot days seem like tasting-sizes to us. Although they have many flavors, the choices seem simpler because they are simpler--the hyper-segmentation that leads Americans to expect low-fat, no-fat, and low- and no-sugar options in all flavors just isn't there. Because they pay extra to sit down, Italians are more likely to stand than sit while eating a gelato or drinking a cappuccino or a tiny cup of espresso. They are far less wasteful and more conservative in their use of expensive resources. No wonder we are fatter!

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Italian stores are generally smaller and more category-focused than ours. Their shoppers are more likely than American shoppers to walk from one store to the next. Our one-stop shopping in big stores is supposed to be time-saving and cheaper, but zeroing in on the item that's right for you is harder to do. Wal-Mart's decision to sell off its stores in Germany may be partly attributable to the difficulties shoppers had finding what they want in a big-box store with endless aisles.

Those who wring their hands about obesity and Americans' resistance to making healthy choices need to consider the mind-numbing number of choices we expect shoppers to make in the "we-have-everything" drug stores, discount stores, and supermarkets in which most Americans shop. Many of the same brands, products, and packages are available in every store and format, but the mix and context vary from store to store. In our cluttered world of intense competition for shelf space, in which every package wants visibility and recognition, shoppers can hardly be blamed for responding to those that make a straightforward and specific claim that speaks right to them.