Europe doesn't have that many Lego store, outside Germany and Denmark. You seem to have a nice job, even if all those boxes could look like a permanant temptation island to you. Hope you can resist :-D
Lego does not always use the big boxes. For the UCS lego sets for instance, the boxes are full. I think it's just a question of public : kids want big things because they are more receptive to marketing while adults knows that some small packaging could contain precious items (like a ring or a neckless).