A brief history of shopping.

When people first started shopping in ancient times they didn’t use money they exchanged goods ,they bartered. The things they bartered were things they had grown  ,reared or made .These they exchanged  for things they needed.

Then, money was introduced. When people wanted to buy something they would go to the local market and exchange money for goods.

Next came the each shop specialising in a particular commodity.  The range of items sold grew as the needs of the customers grew. If some one was making clothes and wanted buttons they would go to the haberdashers, if some one was making a shelf and wanted nails they would go to the ironmongers. 
 
Along with the specialist shop the corner shop evolved. These shops sold  everything from sweets to washing lines from groceries to buckets.  The corner  became the focal point for the community, the beginning perhaps, of the affinity between shopping and gossiping!

As  shops developed so did the role of the shopkeeper.  There grew an understanding that if the customer was happy with the goods and service they received they would return and business would prosper. The adage,’ the customer is always right ‘became the philosophy.  Many shops would extend their service by completing the shopping list for the customer and have it delivered to the house.

Then came the supermarkets, which sold a range of stock from across the specialist shops. `Customers were no longer served but took the items they wanted from the shelves. They packed them into their cars and took them home . Interaction tended to be at the till although now  people may also use the self-payment system.

Today an ever-increasing number of us shop using the Internet. Once again we are offered choices from a wide range of specialists and are goods are delivered to our doors.