I've done similar things with my fiancee. She's extremely emotive and oblivious though, so it makes it easy on me to notice stuff that is either bothering her or that she wants. When I go to the store alone I usually get her whatever candy she was eyeing last time we went together. She still doesn't know how I know what she was craving.
A the discount grocery store I buy the cereal box that is banged up. I'll open it to verify the bag inside is still air tight, but if the only issue is the cosmetic box itself I don't care and will buy it. If I don't, then its possible the beaten up box will be discarded from being non-sold. Increased shrink (retail term for product that doesn't get sold) will mean prices go up on everything and possibly the workers don't get raises (or not as big a raise) to cover the loss.
I'm fine with a beaten up box if it means my price stay low and workers get raises.
I've been buying the crushed Chaos boxes for MTG cards at my local Walmart this year. These things have probably been sitting in storage forever instead of being sent back but I grab them when I see them. They've been real good to me. I pulled a Rhystic Study, Ragavan, Ao the sky dawn, and a Junji the Midnight Sky out of them this summer.
This reminds me of the children's book Corduroy about a stuffed animal that gets left on the shelf because his overalls are missing a button. I blame that book for my irrational dedication to inanimate objects.