With the winter holidays gearing up as the temperature drops, have you ever thought about how different buying things is now versus what it looked like just a few decades earlier? How about a century? A millennia? Commerce, the way that we humans go about acquiring goods and services, has undergone many revolutions since civilization first started trucking along. This article has been written to highlight several major innovations and revolutions in commerce to instill a greater appreciation for how things have changed.
The Barter System
Before humans came up with the idea of a series of standards for what things are worth, known as “currency,” the best that our ancient ancestors had to offer if they wanted something was one or more things that they already owned. If you wanted something from someone, you would offer whatever you felt was worth just as much at that something and then hope that the other party was amenable to the exchange. Unfortunately, the major flaw with using the barter system over static currency is that different people might have different understandings of how much their stuff was worth versus how much the offered goods might be worth.
Mail Order (1845/1861)
Before people had access to the internet to buy anything their heart desired, they had to rely on mail-order catalogs. In the earliest days of these catalogs, people would either look over a book full of all sorts of items or interact with a traveling representative for the company. The person would note all the products they were interested in, including houses with some vendors, and then send off the itemized list with the money needed to pay for everything. The vendor would then review the customer’s request slip and ship the relevant goods, either directly to the customer’s address or hand it off to a distribution center that would make the final leg of transporting the goods.
While the first American mail-order catalog was the Tiffany’s “Blue Book” of 1845, Montgomery Ward’s mail-order business produced a single-sheet catalog in 1872. This innovation completely removed the need for a general store element of commerce, meaning the path between vendor and consumer was a straight path with no one in the way. The first mail-order company was started by a Welshman, Sir Pryce Pryce-Jones. Pryce-Jones’ “Royal Welsh Warehouse” began its operations by selling domestic textiles and managed to expand operations after the modern postal system came into fashion and railways became commonplace.
Credit Cards (19th Century)
While the initial concept and term dates back to Edward Bellamy’s 1887 novel “Looking Backward,” implementation of anything close to the modern credit card would be the charge cards and coins of the 19th Century. The coin variety was designed with a hole for storing it on a key ring; the coin was commonly used by individuals with charge accounts connected to different hotels or stores. Each card or coin had an account number and the relevant merchant’s name and branding. A clerk could use these coins to make an impression of the physical coin on the paper, including all relevant attributions.
Self-Service Goods (1916)
Can you imagine a time when you had to ask a sales clerk if they had something in stock because you had no other option? This was what the world of grocery shopping was like until “Piggly Wiggly” opened in 1916, within the state of Tennessee. This regional grocery store chain was the first shop that introduced individualized price tags on merchandise and shopping carts for customers to carry their intended purchases from the shelves and racks to the cashier’s desk. It may not be the most prominent of grocers these days, even within the American South and Midwest, but the world of retail would likely be a very different place without this innovation.
Charga-Card (1928)
The next step in the innovation of this technology would come in 1928. The “Charga-Card” saw use for about two decades and was a 2.5″ x 1.25″ slip of the same material used in dog tags. This card bore its owner’s name, city, address, and signature. To purchase anything with this card, the cashier would place it into a recess, cover it with a charge slip, and press an ink ribbon against the slip over the part that overlapped with the card.
General Use Cards (1950)
The two men responsible for “Diners Club” started the idea of a consolidated card for people instead of requiring a consumer to have a different card for each relevant vendor. The simple Diners Club card only required its members to pay off their entire bill with each statement. The Diners Club card was soon followed by American Express, which would be responsible for starting the first global credit card network.
The Barcode (1952)
While this technology of scannable lines was inspired by Morse code and patented in ’52, it would not see broad commercial use until the ’70s. “Sainsbury’s” of the United Kingdom was the first commercial market to make use of the technology, eschewing the time needed to go up to every individual item for sale and affix a price tag to it; the cashier could simply use a scanning device to look at every code and the machine could then tally the total value of the customer’s purchase. The first item scanned for purchase in an American store would be a stick of Wrigley’s chewing gum in a “Marsh” supermarket back in June of 1974.
Online Shopping (1994)
When the internet was only starting to gain attention, it was nothing more than a means of communication and advertising. Internet commerce did not become a reality until the breakout sale of Sting’s album “Ten Summoner’s Tales.” Flowers, chocolates, and wine would be the first industries to follow this innovation in getting money from the hands of eager customers. While the early proponents of online shopping were affluent men in their 30s, the demographics have since evolved into almost anyone of any age and gender presentation.
With the winter holidays gearing up as the temperature drops, have you ever thought about how different buying things is now versus what it looked like just a few decades earlier? How about a century? A millennia? Commerce, the way that we humans go about acquiring goods and services, has undergone many revolutions since civilization first started trucking along. This article has been written to highlight several major innovations and revolutions in commerce to instill a greater appreciation for how things have changed.
The Barter System
Before humans came up with the idea of a series of standards for what things are worth, known as “currency,” the best that our ancient ancestors had to offer if they wanted something was one or more things that they already owned. If you wanted something from someone, you would offer whatever you felt was worth just as much at that something and then hope that the other party was amenable to the exchange. Unfortunately, the major flaw with using the barter system over static currency is that different people might have different understandings of how much their stuff was worth versus how much the offered goods might be worth.
Mail Order (1845/1861)
Before people had access to the internet to buy anything their heart desired, they had to rely on mail-order catalogs. In the earliest days of these catalogs, people would either look over a book full of all sorts of items or interact with a traveling representative for the company. The person would note all the products they were interested in, including houses with some vendors, and then send off the itemized list with the money needed to pay for everything. The vendor would then review the customer’s request slip and ship the relevant goods, either directly to the customer’s address or hand it off to a distribution center that would make the final leg of transporting the goods.
While the first American mail-order catalog was the Tiffany’s “Blue Book” of 1845, Montgomery Ward’s mail-order business produced a single-sheet catalog in 1872. This innovation completely removed the need for a general store element of commerce, meaning the path between vendor and consumer was a straight path with no one in the way. The first mail-order company was started by a Welshman, Sir Pryce Pryce-Jones. Pryce-Jones’ “Royal Welsh Warehouse” began its operations by selling domestic textiles and managed to expand operations after the modern postal system came into fashion and railways became commonplace.
Credit Cards (19th Century)
While the initial concept and term dates back to Edward Bellamy’s 1887 novel “Looking Backward,” implementation of anything close to the modern credit card would be the charge cards and coins of the 19th Century. The coin variety was designed with a hole for storing it on a key ring; the coin was commonly used by individuals with charge accounts connected to different hotels or stores. Each card or coin had an account number and the relevant merchant’s name and branding. A clerk could use these coins to make an impression of the physical coin on the paper, including all relevant attributions.
Self-Service Goods (1916)
Can you imagine a time when you had to ask a sales clerk if they had something in stock because you had no other option? This was what the world of grocery shopping was like until “Piggly Wiggly” opened in 1916, within the state of Tennessee. This regional grocery store chain was the first shop that introduced individualized price tags on merchandise and shopping carts for customers to carry their intended purchases from the shelves and racks to the cashier’s desk. It may not be the most prominent of grocers these days, even within the American South and Midwest, but the world of retail would likely be a very different place without this innovation.
Charga-Card (1928)
The next step in the innovation of this technology would come in 1928. The “Charga-Card” saw use for about two decades and was a 2.5″ x 1.25″ slip of the same material used in dog tags. This card bore its owner’s name, city, address, and signature. To purchase anything with this card, the cashier would place it into a recess, cover it with a charge slip, and press an ink ribbon against the slip over the part that overlapped with the card.
General Use Cards (1950)
The two men responsible for “Diners Club” started the idea of a consolidated card for people instead of requiring a consumer to have a different card for each relevant vendor. The simple Diners Club card only required its members to pay off their entire bill with each statement. The Diners Club card was soon followed by American Express, which would be responsible for starting the first global credit card network.
The Barcode (1952)
While this technology of scannable lines was inspired by Morse code and patented in ’52, it would not see broad commercial use until the ’70s. “Sainsbury’s” of the United Kingdom was the first commercial market to make use of the technology, eschewing the time needed to go up to every individual item for sale and affix a price tag to it; the cashier could simply use a scanning device to look at every code and the machine could then tally the total value of the customer’s purchase. The first item scanned for purchase in an American store would be a stick of Wrigley’s chewing gum in a “Marsh” supermarket back in June of 1974.
Online Shopping (1994)
When the internet was only starting to gain attention, it was nothing more than a means of communication and advertising. Internet commerce did not become a reality until the breakout sale of Sting’s album “Ten Summoner’s Tales.” Flowers, chocolates, and wine would be the first industries to follow this innovation in getting money from the hands of eager customers. While the early proponents of online shopping were affluent men in their 30s, the demographics have since evolved into almost anyone of any age and gender presentation.
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