November 4, 1880 - James Ritty and John Ritty of Dayton, OH patented the first cash register; intended to combat stealing by bartenders in the Pony House Restaurant saloon; first model looked like a clock, hands indicated dollars and cents, two adding discs behind the dial accumulated the total of the amounts recorded; known as "the incorruptible cashier," with no cash drawer, would show anyone within sight how much had been recorded; Ritty brothers failed to sell cash registers in large quantities because shop staff distrusted this "thief trap".

1894 - Coca-Cola Company issued first discount, 'dotted-line' (cents off) clipping coupon to be redeemed at checkout counter; 2006 - 279 billion issued (about 1,000 per person, up 13% since 2002) source: NCH Marketing Services.

March 22, 1954 - First shopping mall opened in Southfield, Michigan.

June 26, 1974 - Package of Wrigley's chewing gum with a bar code printed on it passed over a scanner at the Marsh Supermarket, Troy, OH; became first product ever logged under the new Universal Product Code (UPC) computerized recognition system (invented by IBM, approved for use in 1973); 12-number bar code represents manufacturer's identity and an assigned product number; information is read with a laser beam, transferred to store's database computer for price lookup and inventory management.

April 2008 - Consumer spending slump, tightening credit markets =  wave of bankruptcies in American retailing, thousands of store closings; growing number of national retailers (Starbucks, Macy’s, CVS Caremark, Jos. A. Bank, J. C. Penney) are abandoning  longstanding tradition of "guidance", reporting monthly store sales, forecasting annual profits  (claim outdated practices encouraged short-term decision-making, investor confusion).

(Gibbs Brothers and Company), Donald R. Walker (1997). A Frontier Texas Mercantile: The History of Gibbs Brothers and Company, Huntsville, 1841-1940. (Huntsville, TX: Texas Review Press, 181 p.). Gibbs family; Gibbs Brothers and Company--History; General stores--Texas--Huntsville--History.

(Gross, Kelly & Company), Daniel T. Kelly with Beatrice Chauvenet (1972). The Buffalo Head; A Century of Mercantile Pioneering in the Southwest. (Santa Fe, NM: Vergara Pub. Co., 288 p.). Kelly, Daniel T., 1886- ; Gross, Kelly & Company, inc.; Frontier and pioneer life--Southwest, New; Southwest, New--Commerce--History.

(Hudson's Bay Company), Edward Beauclerk Maurice (2005). The Last Gentleman Adventurer: Coming of Age in the Arctic. (Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 392 p.). Maurice, Edward Beauclerk; Hudson’s Bay Company--Biography; Explorers--Canada, Northern--Biography; Frontier and pioneer life--Canada, Northern; Inuit--Canada, Northern--Social life and customs--20th century; Canada, Northern--Description and travel; Baffin Island (Nunavut)--Description and travel; Canada, Northern--Discovery and exploration; Canada, Northern--Social life and customs--20th century; Canada, Northern--Biography. Author (16) impulsively signed up with the Hudson's Bay Company (Company of Gentleman Adventurers), sent to an isolated trading post in the Canadian Arctic (no telephone or radio, one ship arrived each year).

(Sassoon), Stanley Jackson (1968). The Sassoons: The Fascinating Story of a Fabulous Family of Merchant Princes and a Poet. (New York, NY: Dutton, 304 p.). Sassoon family. From opium trade in India to real estate in Shanghai - 'Rothschilds of the East'.

(Sassoon), Cecil Roth (1977). The Sassoon Dynasty. (New York, NY: Arno Press, 280 p. [orig. pub. 1941]). Sassoon family; Great Britain--Genealogy.

Elaine S. Abelson (1989). When Ladies Go A-Thieving: Middle-Class Shoplifters in the Victorian Department Store. (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 292 p.). Shoplifting--United States--History--19th century; Female offenders--United States--History--19th century; Middle class women--United States--History--19th century; Women consumers--United States--History--19th century; Department stores--United States--History--19th century.

Charles G. Anderson; art illustrations, Lu Bright (1984). Deep Creek Merchant: The Story of William Henry "Pete" Snyder. (Snyder, TX: Snyder Pub. Co., 240 p.). Snyder, William Henry, 1836-1916; Pioneers--Texas--Snyder--Biography; Merchants--Texas--Snyder--Biography; Snyder (Tex.)--Biography; Snyder (Tex.)--History. Sponsored by Scurry County Historical Commission.

Ed Aryain; edited and with an Introduction by J’Nell L. Pate; foreword by John R. Wunder; afterword by Edward Aryain and Jameil Aryain (2006). From Syria to Seminole: Memoir of a High Plains Merchant. (Lubbock, TX: Texas Tech University Press, 260 p.). Aryain, Ed (nee Mohammed); Syrian Americans--Texas--Biography; Merchants--Texas--Biography; Texas--Biography. Author recounts his life first as dry-goods peddler, then merchant and family man on Great Plains, eventually owning a store in Seminole, TX.

Lewis Eldon Atherton (1971). The Frontier Merchant in Mid-America. (Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press, 183 p.). Merchants--United States; Frontier and pioneer life--United States; United States--Commerce--History.

Eds. John Benson and Laura Ugolini (2003). A Nation of Shopkeepers: Five Centuries of British Retailing. (New York, NY: I.B. Taurus, 269 p.). Professor of History and Lecturer in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences (University of Wolverhampton, UK). Retail trade--History; Shopping--History.

--- (2006). Cultures of Selling: Perspectives on Consumption and Society Since 1700. (Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 230 p.). Professors  (University of Wolverhampton, UK). Retail trade--History; Shopping--History. Relationship of consumption to cultural and social values; consumer cultures, norms and practices involved in the sale of consumer goods.

Patricia M. Brown (1996). The Merchant Princes of Fremantle: The Rise and Decline of a Colonial Elite, 1870-1900. (Nedlands, W.A: University of Western Australia Press, 235 p.). Merchants--Australia--Fremantle (W.A.)--Biography; Harbors--Australia--Fremantle (W.A.)--History; Fremantle (W.A.)--History; Western Australia--History; Australia--History--1788-1900.

Wellington K. K. Chan (1977). Merchants, Mandarins, and Modern Enterprise in late Ch‘ing China. (Cambridge, MA: East Asian Research Center, Harvard University, 323 p.). Merchants -- China -- History; Business enterprises -- China -- History; China -- Commerce -- History; Industries -- China -- History.

Stanley D. Chapman (1992). Merchant Enterprise in Britain: From the Industrial Revolution to World War I. (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 339 p.). Merchants--Great Britain--History; Great Britain--Commerce--History--18th century; Great Britain--Commerce--History--19th century.

Harold F. Cook (1981). Pioneer American Businessman in Korea: The Life and Times of Walter Davis Townsend. (Seoul, Korea: Published for Royal Asiatic Society, Korea Branch by Seoul Computer Press, 104 p.). Townsend, Walter Davis, 1856-1918; Merchants--United States--Biography; Merchants--Korea--Biography; Korea--History--1864-1910.

Colin N. Crisswell (1981). The Taipans, Hong Kong's Merchant Princes. (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 249 p.). Merchants -- China -- Hong Kong -- History; Hong Kong (China) -- Commerce -- History. From origins of first trading houses in 18th-century Canton, Macau to beginning of First World War - early taipans, Jardine & Matheson (1830s), foundations of Chinese business class.

Patrick Dearen (2000). Halff of Texas: Merchant Rancher of the Old West. (Austin, TX: Eakin Press. Halff, Mayer, 1836-1905; Ranchers--Pecos River Region (N.M. and Tex.)--Biography; Ranchers--Texas--Biography; Ranch life--Pecos River Region (N.M. and Tex.)--History--19th century; Frontier and pioneer life--Pecos River Region (N.M. and Tex.); Merchants--Pecos River Region (N.M. and Tex.)--Biography; Ranching--Pecos River Region (N.M. and Tex.)--History--19th century; Texas--Biography; Pecos River Region (N.M. and Tex.)--Biography.

Peter R. Decker (1978). Fortunes and Failures: White-Collar Mobility in Nineteenth Century San Francisco. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 336 p.). Merchants--California--San Francisco--History; Social mobility--California--San Francisco--History; White collar workers--California--San Francisco--History; Occupational mobility--California--San Francisco--History.

Bob Dye (1997). Merchant Prince of the Sandalwood Mountains: Afong and the Chinese in Hawaii. (Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press, 276 p.). Afong, Chun, 1825-1906; Chinese--Hawaii--Biography; Merchants--Hawaii--Biography; Chinese--Hawaii--History; Hawaii--History--To 1893.

Rae B. Fleming (2002). General Stores of Canada: Merchants and Memories. (Toronto, ON: Lynx Images, 206 p.). General stores--Canada--History; Merchants--Canada--Biography.

C. Robert Haywood (1998). The Merchant Prince of Dodge City: The Life and Times of Robert M. Wright. (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 236 p.). Wright, Robert Marr, 1840-1915; Pioneers--Kansas--Dodge City--Biography; Merchants--Kansas--Dodge City--Biography; Politicians--Kansas--Dodge City--Biography; Frontier and pioneer life--Kansas--Dodge City; Dodge City (Kan.)--Biography.

Jim Heimann (2007). Shop America: Midcentury Storefront Design 1938-1950. (Los Angeles, CA: Taschen, 246 p.). Executive Editor for TASCHEN America. Storefront; Design -- history; Stores, Retail--United States--History. Making shoppers out of passersby. Storefront design of postwar era is particularly indicative of bright, shiny future, optimism and opulence, larger-than-life planes and curves; spectacular, often grandiose plans for grocery stores, shoe shops, beauty salons, bakeries, more are reminders of time when stores were sacred shrines for congregation of American shoppers; reveal mindset of unique period in history. In addition to an extensive selection of drawings are historical black and white photographs of actual shops built in a similar style; rare look at mid-century commercial America as it pictured itself.

William J. Holderfield (2007). Schaumburg’s Woodfield Mall. (Charleston, SC: Arcadia Pub., 128 p.). Shopping malls--Schaumburg (Ill.)--Pictorial works; Schaumburg (Ill.)--History--Pictorial works; Schaumburg (Ill.)--Buildings, structures, etc.--Pictorial works. Opened on September 9, 1971 with 59 stores - major factor in rise of city and all of Chicago’s northwest suburbs;  1973 - nearly 190 stores, 1.9 million square feet of retail, largest mall in America at the time.

Pamela Horn (2006). Behind the Counter: Shop Lives from Market Stall to Supermarket. (Gloucestershire, UK: Sutton Publishing, 320 p.). Retail trade; Retail trade--working life. Largely hidden personal stories of working life in corner shops, 'high class' grocers, dress shops, department stores. 

James B. Jefferys (1954). Retail Trading in Britain, 1850-1950; A Study of Trends in Retailing with Special Reference to the Development of Cooperative, Multiple Shop and Department Store Methods of Trading. (Cambridge, UK: University Press, 497 p.). Retail trade--Great Britain.

Laurence Ayres Johnson (1961). Over the Counter and on the Shelf; Country Storekeeping in America, 1620-1920. (Rutland, VT: C. E. Tuttle Co., 140 p.). General stores--United States.

Carol Kennedy (2000). The Merchant Princes: Family, Fortune and Philanthropy; Cadbury, Sainsbury and John Lewis. (London, UK: Hutchinson, 309 p.). John Lewis Partnership; Cadbury Ltd.; Sainsbury's (Firm); Retail trade--Great Britain--History; Retail trade--Great Britain--Management; Family-owned business enterprises--Great Britain--Management.

Keith Lincoln, Lars Thomassen & Anthony Aconis (2006). Retailization: Brand Survival in the Age of Retailer Power. (Philadelphia, PA: Kogan Page Limited, 221 p.). Retail trade; Brand name products. How brand power is inexorably being replaced by retailer power; based on two-year study by AC Nielsen, BBDO Europe (largest global study on selling branded products ever conducted).

Richard W. Longstreth (1997). City Center to Regional Mall: Architecture, the Automobile, and Retailing in Los Angeles, 1920-1950. (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 504 p.). Central business districts -- California -- Los Angeles Metropolitan Area -- History; Retail trade -- California -- Los Angeles Metropolitan Area -- History; Automobiles -- Social aspects -- California -- Los Angeles Metropolitan Area -- History; City and town life -- California -- Los Angeles Metropolitan Area -- History.

E. Kimbark MacColl with Harry H. Stein (1988). Merchants, Money, and Power: The Portland Establishment, 1843-1913. (Portland, OR: Georgian Press, 516 p.). Community leadership--Oregon--Portland--History; Merchants--Oregon--Portland--History; Bankers--Oregon--Portland--History; Politicians--Oregon--Portland--History; Wealth--Oregon--Portland--History; Portland (Or.)--Economic conditions; Portland (Or.)--Politics and government.

Tom Mahoney (1955). The Great Merchants: The Stories of Twenty Famous Retail Operations and the People Who Made Them Great. (New York, NY: Harper, 340 p.). Retail trade -- United States; Merchants -- United States.

Ronald D. Michman, Alan J. Greco (1995). Retailing Triumphs and Blunders: Victims of Competition in the New Age of Marketing Management. (Westport, CT: Quorum Books, 264 p.). Professor Emeritus of Marketing (Shippensburg University, Pennsylvania); Associate Professor of Marketing, School of Business and Economics (North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, NC). Retail trade -- Management; Retail trade -- Decision making. Variables necessary for duplicating success and avoiding failure.

Stacy Mitchell (2006). Big-Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America’s Independent Businesses. (Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 336 p.). Senior Researcher with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Chair of the American Independent Business Alliance. Chain stores--United States; Retail trade--United States; Small business--United States. How mega-retailers are fueling many pressing problems, from shrinking middle class to rising water pollution and diminished civic engagement.

David Monod (1996). Store Wars: Shopkeepers and the Culture of Mass Marketing, 1890-1939. (Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press, 438 p.). Retail trade--Canada--History; Small business--Canada--History; Canada--Economic conditions--19th century; Canada--Economic conditions--1918-1945.

Jonathan Morris (1993). The Political Economy of Shopkeeping in Milan, 1886-1922. (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 312 p.). Retail trade--Government policy--Italy--Milan--History; Stores, Retail--Italy--Milan--History; Merchants--Italy--Milan--History; Milan (Italy)--Commercial policy--History; Milan (Italy)--Commerce--History.

 Mark Moss (2007). Shopping as an Entertainment Experience. (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 168 p.). Department stores--Social aspects; Shopping malls--Social aspects; Shopping--Social aspects. Shopping is often most common leisure experience people indulge in.

Thomas C. Owen (1981). Capitalism and Politics in Russia: A Social History of the Moscow Merchants, 1855-1905. (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 295 p.). Merchants--Russia--History; Merchants--Russia (Federation)--Moscow--History; Russia--Social conditions--1801-1917; Russia--Economic conditions--1861-1917.

William J. Parish (1961). The Charles Ilfeld Company; A Study of the Rise and Decline of Mercantile Capitalism in New Mexico. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 431 p.). Ilfeld (Charles) Company; New Mexico--Commerce; New Mexico--Economic conditions.

Alfred J. Rieber (1982). Merchants and Entrepreneurs in Imperial Russia. (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 464 p.). Merchants--Soviet Union--History; Capitalists and financiers--Soviet Union--History; Soviet Union--Social conditions--1801-1917.

Michael F. Rizzo (2007). Nine Nine Eight: The Glory Days of Buffalo Shopping. (Morrisville, NC: Lulu.com, 172 p.). Retailing -- History -- Buffalo, New York; shopping; chain stores -- history. History of great retailers that once dotted main streets of Buffalo, NY; from early days of city to bankruptcy, sale of every major local retailer.

Robert J. Shepherd (2007). When Culture Goes to Market: Space, Place and Identity in an Urban Marketplace. (New York, NY.: Peter Lang Pub., Inc., 173 p.). Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Honors (The George Washington University). Markets--Social aspects--Washington (D.C.); Street vendors--Washington (D.C.); Urban renewal--Washington (D.C.). Washington, DC's Eastern Market - popular weekend produce, flea market; people who constitute it: vendors, market supervisors, customers; how it functions as social institution; how urban public space is produced, reproduced, shaped by larger economic, social processes; practical limits to formalized bureaucratic planning in its success.

Robert Spector (2005). Category Killers: The Retail Revolution and Its Impact on Consumer Culture. (Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Pub., 221 p.). Shopping centers; Retail trade.

Howard F. Van Zandt (1980). Pioneer American Merchants in Japan. (Tokyo, Japan: Lotus Press, 394 p.). Merchants--United States--Biography; Merchants--Japan--Biography; United States--Commerce--Japan--History; Japan--Commerce--United States--History.

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Business History Links

The Center for Education and Research in Retailing http://www.bus.indiana.edu/retail/retail.htm                                              This site from Indiana University features a timeline with information relating to retail sales and retailing using the Internet (from the beginning of the 20th century through 2002), publications from the center, and links to related information.

(CHORD) Centre for the History of Retailing and Distribution http://pers-www.wlv.ac.uk/~in6086/chord.html                              Established in September 1998 to give new impetus to the study of the history of retailing and distribution, and to act as a point of contact between scholars - both in Britain and abroad - engaged in research within this field, whatever their period of interest, discipline or methodology. Part of the History and Governance Research Institute (HAGRI) at the the University of Wolverhampton.

Evolution of the Shopping Center http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/soc/shoppingcenter.html#04

Labelscar: The Retail History Blog                         http://www.labelscar.com/                                                                     Since the mid-1990s we have intently researched North American retail development, including retail industry trends, commercial architecture, and retail history. In the process, we’ve visited hundreds of shopping malls and thousands of shopping centers each, in nearly every state and even internationally. We’ve been to stunning, thriving, modern shopping malls and lifestyle centers and we’ve been to some of the most derelict "dead malls" in the country. Together we’ve visited more than two-thirds of the enclosed malls in the United States. Our mission has been to study these centers, and attempt to preserve something of their presence.