The modern consumer has grown accustomed to the effortless retail experience of the 21st century. Customers expect to be able to shop at anytime, from anywhere, with an omnichannel service that is exclusively tailored to their specific needs.

Effortless shopping has been the goal of retailers for centuries. Creating the modern customer experience has involved far more than the invention of e-commerce and digital technologies. Here, we take a look back at the key inventions and events that shaped the retail industry as we know it today.

The ancient origins of the retail industry

Money is the lifeblood of the modern retail industry, but before there was currency, there was trading. Archeologists have unearthed the remains of cowrie shells that date back to 1200 BC. These shells were used to mark the monetary value of commercial transactions at the agora – the Roman trading center where tradesmen offered their goods.

According to the Encyclopedia of Ancient History, trading likely consisted of purchasing necessities. For the wealthy, cowrie shells would have been used to obtain luxuries to impress visiting dignitaries. Goods consisted of everything from recently harvested vegetables, freshly caught fish or purple dye which was considered to be extraordinarily valuable at the time.

 

Renaissance Europe marketplaces

Shopping took on a new form during turn-of-the-century Europe. Marketplaces and fairs were developed as pop-up fundraisers that were usually held around Easter. One of the largest was the Foire St. Germain in Paris, a fair for the benefit of the Abbey of St. Germain.

Tradesman would haggle and auction off their items for the benefit of the Abbey, while Parisian residents enjoyed something much like an early shopping mall. These fairs quickly gained popularity and spread throughout the rest of the developed Western world.

 

High street hysteria

At the end of the 19th century, most people no longer possessed the facilities to grow their own food. This gave rise to the high street, where market stalls became shops and fixed prices and new services such as home delivery and store credit were introduced.

During this period, shopkeepers realised that the longer customers remained in their stores, the more likely they were to make purchases. Several innovations were invented with the intention to keep people engaged in stores for longer. Modern escalators were first introduced in 1895 with Harrods being the first department store to install one.

Women’s restrooms were also a welcome addition. In the late 1800s Harry Selfridge created women’s lounges inside his store – a trend that thankfully caught on.

 

Self-service and the corner store

The local corner store dominated retail in the early 20th century. People would walk to their closest corner store to stock up on the basics. Choice was limited, but so was the amount of produce that the shopper would be able to carry home.

Before 1916, self-service was not widely available in grocery stores with all produce kept behind a counter. That changed when a Memphis Piggly Wiggly grocery store created a ‘cafeteria grocery’ where shoppers could browse the shelves and pick up items themselves.

 

Mass modernisation culture

The early 1900s were responsible for the term ‘retail therapy’. Department stores placed emphasis on creating beautiful displays and providing exceptional customer service. Oxford Street became the number one destination for shoppers, particularly the wealthy who visited stores like Selfridges to take advantage of personal shopping services and be pampered.

New inventions meant that consumers could carry more items and therefore spend more money. The first shopping carts were invented in 1937, giving shoppers an alternative to the much smaller folding basket. The invention of the automobile also meant people could travel further and carry more, while in-home refrigeration allowed families to stock more food.

 

The fashion boom of the swinging sixties

The population boom, the growth of suburbia and the rise of the TV ad in the 1960s led to the introduction of open air malls and mass retailers. The demand for affordable fashion propelled the launch of outlets like Topshop, Miss Selfridge and Debenhams, shops that enticed fashionable youngsters with outlandish window displays and unique store layouts.

In 1966, Carnaby Street was immortalised on the cover of Time Magazine as a boutique clothing haven and emblem of Swinging London. Across the pond, Audrey Hepburn put iconic jewellers on the map as she embodied chic New York opulence in ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’.

 

The dawn of supermarkets and demise of local merchants

In the 1970s, speed and convenience became a priority of retail. Supermarkets and major chain stores burst onto the scene meaning customers could buy their groceries under one roof. Price wars with rival stores became commonplace, which in turn reduced the value of various products and drove many smaller independent merchants out of business.

 

Retail in the digital world

The internet revolutionised retail, giving customers new platforms to browse, research and purchase products. E-commerce shifted many of our retail experiences to the digital world, giving individual customers who visit a brand’s website a personalised, convenient experience. It did not bring such good news to the traditional brick-and-mortar retailer however. In the US, 7 of the 8 largest retailers in 1980 had become bankrupt, irrelevant or had been acquired by the time the millennium arrived.

Several other innovations have transformed consumer behaviour. Social media has become an important channel of communication between customer and retailer, while augmented reality has allowed for the creation of entirely new experiences such as virtual fitting rooms. Other inventions have benefitted the retailer, for instance RFID tags have provided a new approach to stock and inventory management and contain far more information than barcodes.

 

What does the future hold for retail?

As innovations in technology continue to spread across the world, retail will adapt accordingly. The modern consumer continues to demand speed and convenience and technology will make it easier to shop wherever, whenever. Smart stores with shelves that know when an item is out-of-stock or an interested customer is nearby and drone delivery services are just two of the many inventions that could emerge in the very near future.