The deli drawer is great for catering trays or any trays too wide for the shelves above. DH also puts long thin dispenser cases of his favorite soda in one end of the tray. I store meat, bacon and cheese in the tray as well.

In theory, the meat/deli drawer should stay a few degrees cooler and therefore deli meats and other more highly perishable items should keep a little longer. This will vary though depending upon model & settings.

I love my deli drawer because it's slightly cooler and separate from the rest of the fridge. My deli drawer came with a moveable divider, so I keep the deli meat/fish (hot dogs, smoked salmon, prosciutto, salami) on one side and the raw meat/fish on the other.

we just recently got an amana french door fridge with the wide shallow deli drawer that you describe and it's probably my favorite feature of this fridge. there's just tons of space in there. the fridge doesn't have an egg zone, so i put eggs in there, and after putting any meat and cheese that we have, there's still tons of space for other stuff.

love it!

Deli drawers are supposed to keep meats and cheeses (the more expensive perishables) fresher longer by being colder.

No need to do that for eggs, though. They don't even refrigerate eggs in Australia. Keep them in their original carton (especially if it's foam), don't put them in the door, and they will last a long, long time ...