"most merchandise is not protected by any means" - Hmmm, very, very dangerous statement to be making. My client at www.eliminateshoplifting.com would strongly disagree.

Picky, picky, picky Bruce. You know I meant IP protection.
As for physical protection, you may be correct.
Regards,

LOL, yes of course. Even with IP I think most merchandise is branded, at a minimum. Most literature, most songs, most videos, movies, computers, smartphones, TVs, guns (we love our guns in America), cars, etc. are protected by IP. I dare say a larger dollar volume of merchandise is protected by some sort of IP than none. Smartphone producers and most software programmers would say way too much; the MPAA, RIAA, BSA (Business Software Alliance), IACC (Int'l Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition), SOPA proponents etc. would say not enough. Depends, I suppose, on whether the one speaking is an innovator or an imitator. Yet, certainly, much is generic - unbranded groceries (my tour through ALDI tells me nearly everything is branded even in groceries). OTC medicines, building materials (again, a visit to LOWE's tells me everything there seems to be branded), etc. So, the "most" I think should be " much".