History of Shopping Venues timeline

The history of shopping venues in the United States begins with "brick-and-mortar" shops in the form of Mom and Pop stores that became popular in the 19th century and has evolved into the large department stores and shopping malls that dominate retail today. In the most recent decades, the emergence of online shopping and the influence of social media has made shopping omnipresent in Americans' daily lives. Many of these concepts have overlapped through centuries of American consumer culture.

Specifically in the 1880s, mom and pop shops populated the US. These stores proliferated as Americans expanded west and settled in new towns across the country. It was common for each town to have at least one of these types of general stores. Mom and pop stores sold a wide range of goods from pharmaceuticals, to groceries, to toys, and more. Such stores appealed to American consumers' desire to support local and family-owned businesses that served as cornerstones for small town civilian life.

In the late 19th century, transformations in tech and transportation led to the emergence of mass-produced goods. Small towns could now engage in consumption of commodities through mail-order catalogues. It inducted them into the growing consumer culture through gaining access to a range of goods. Montgomery Ward & Company created the first mail-order catalogue in 1872. These catalogues were made visually arresting through print technologies such as color, illustration, and fonts.

Department stores proliferated from the 1870s-1990s. These lavish buildings brought together mass concentrations of people and capital for urban retail ventures. Their architecture and interior were grand and ornate, such as the Siegel Cooper Department store. Revolving doors and escalators were introduced to contribute to the ease of shopping. Bloomingdales (1886), Macy’s (1902) and Filene's (1912) are some of the earliest department stores that offered a vast array of goods and services.

Modern chain grocery stores began with Atlantic & Pacific opening in 1912. By 1930, they had 16,000 stores. Chain stores offered a limited number of products at a lower price. They achieved economies of scale by controlling both the retail store and supply chain through investing heavily in their own warehouses and distribution networks. The self-service aspect of chain stores allowed consumers to be active participants in the process rather than having store clerks select products for them.

Shopping malls gained popularity during the 1950s when many families fled cities for the suburbs. The growth of malls paralleled that of automobiles, and their strategic placement within the suburbs intertwined the consumption of the two. They were anchored by large department stores with clusters of smaller stores around it. They acted as idealized civic and commercial spaces where people could not only shop but also make an outing out of it.

The coming of age of the baby boomers in the late 1960s and 70s created a new consumer market that significantly affected the boutique explosion. Post WWII, young men and women now had money to spend and sought to distinguish their style from their parents. Boutiques introduced a new set of expectations regarding fashion and shopping that is still a factor in the early 21st century. Boutiques expanded the concept of fashion as catering to more individualized and adventurous tastes.

In 1962, Walmart opened its first store and with it came the rise of the modern box store and the desire for a return of the one-stop-shop. They represented efficiency and enticed consumers who were looking for convenience in their everyday shopping. The modern box store served big populations, and offered all kinds of goods at a lower price. Like shopping malls, box stores required a car to get to and offered a family experience in that there was something in the store for everyone.

Shopping outlets emerged in the 1970s in remote locations to avoid competition with established retailers. Initially they were set up in huge spaces to sell unforeseen overstocks and end-of-season leftover merchandise to price-sensitive consumers. They became popular in the 1980s/90s and began to sell more in-season merchandise, a shift away from their earlier image as an overstock store concept. Manufacturers began to appreciate outlets as a viable alternative channel to sell merchandise.

Online shopping emerged in the early/mid-1990s. It became popular in the 2000s, and Amazon launched Prime in 2005, making online shopping easier and more convenient. The National Retail Federation held the First Cyber Monday in 2005, and in 2010, Cyber Monday sales surpassed $1 B. Social media began to play a role in eCommerce in the 2010s through avenues such as Facebook marketplace and Instagram ads. In 2020, Covid triggered a surge in eCommerce as sales reached $82.5 B, a 77% rise YoY.

US shopping venues have undergone a massive evolution from Mom and Pops in ~1800 to the online retail giant of Amazon today. The explosion of social media in the last decade has made shopping more accessible and convenient than ever before. Nationally recognized days such as Cyber Monday send American consumers into a craze each year. Where will shopping venues go next?!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uJb47LhUrIVrDbqF-_3-iBNHbhhPCDlF1oGs5tINROM/edit

History of Shopping Venues

Introduction

Mom and Pops

Mail-Order Houses

Department Stores

Chain Grocery Stores

Shopping Malls

Boutiques/Concept Stores

Box Stores

Outlets

Online Shopping/ECommerce

Conclusion