The Retailing Industry

A very good article on the world Retailing Industry and implications for India.

American mass retailing began in the late 1800s with Montgomery Ward marketing its products through general merchandise mail order catalogs, which was very effective at that time for reaching a largely rural society.

In the 1940s, the population began its movement to the suburbs as the economy shifted from an agricultural base to an industrialised nation. The first shopping center was opened, which would eventually be a significant factor in the decline of downtown retailing in the 1960s and 70s. JCPenney and Sears began their national mass retailing expansion, and the use of credit cards as major retail chains began. .......