Shrink-wrapped Software (Noun)
Meaning
Software on CD-ROMs that are boxed and shrink-wrapped and sold in stores (implying a widely supported standard platform).
Classification
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents.
Examples
- The new video game was released as shrink-wrapped software, available for purchase at major retailers nationwide.
- With the rise of digital downloads, sales of shrink-wrapped software on store shelves have steadily declined.
- In the 1990s, shrink-wrapped software was the norm, with popular titles like Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop being sold in this format.
- To distribute their software, the company partnered with a major publisher to create shrink-wrapped software that could be sold in big-box stores.
- Shrink-wrapped software represented a significant portion of the tech industry's revenue stream in the 1980s and 1990s.