An elastic alignment mechanism utilizes cloth elastic strips to pull a rear engagement element toward the front of a display carton. As items are removed from the carton, remaining items are pulled forward. In one embodiment, the items may rest on the bottom of the carton, and the products are pulled by a rear engagement member, such as plastic or cardboard, which is pulled by elastic strips which are secured to the front of the carton. In one embodiment, the mechanism includes a reusable support base, and the elastic strip is provided below the row of items. The strip may be wound around one or more sheaves to decrease the required working range of the elastic. In one embodiment, cardboard support ribs are built into the bottom of the carton, so that the elastic strip may be provided below the items which are supported on the ribs.