The Birth of Mass Shopping

The rise of shopping malls and department stores as we know them began in Paris. Once upon a time, it was illegal for a shop to sell more than one kind of product. French vendors got around this by congregating different stores in one location to make purchases easier for the public, creating a prototype for the shopping mall. Eventually, it became possible for one entity to sell a variety of items, which led to the concept of the department store.     

The first on the market–and in the world–was Au Bon Marché. Founded in 1838, it survived the competition of the other novelty magazines by shrewd display tactics and remained the leader in innovations. The genius behind modern shopping science was Au Bon Marché’s next owner, Aristide Boucicaut who took over the magazine in 1852. He had many tricks up his sleeve, including placing related merchandise at the opposite ends of the store. You bought fabric in one corner, and to get a sewing thread to put the fabric together, you had to cross the store passing seductive displays of fashion accessories that would enhance the new dress. Nearly all the shopping strategies, including the orgiastic sales that influence us today, were invented by Boucicaut and his clever followers in these early days of mass shopping.

(Note the word “magazine” in this context means a retail store.) Being first had its rewards. When Boucicaut died 1887, Au Bon Marché was the biggest retail business in the world. Read about the development of mass shopping concepts at Victorian Paris. -via Strange Company


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