By Christopher Shields, Curator of Library and Archives
Long before online shopping threatened brick and mortar retail businesses, the challenges posed by mail order shopping were felt by local Greenwich merchants. The advent of mail order houses reminds us of the powerful impact new ideas and methods of distribution can have over time and the cyclical nature of such developments.
The rise of mail order shopping for general merchandise occurred after the Civil War. There was mail order trade occurring before then, but in the earlier part of the 19th century most of the products sold in this fashion were patent medicines and not a variety of consumer goods.
Several key developments facilitated the profound growth of the mail order industry. The expansion of rail service to a greater portion of the nation enabled easier movement of goods to locations that were previously isolated and too expensive to reach. Enhancements to the services offered by the United States Postal Service such as Rural Free Delivery (RFD) and the parcel post system were also a great boon as they reduced costs for vendors and customers.
Options offered by mail order houses were particularly attractive to customers in rural locations who did not have access to many desirable items from local establishments. The pages of offerings from the mail order houses revealed a cornucopia of material goods that people in many rural communities likely never knew existed and certainly didn’t have access to when they took a trip into a nearby town. Mail order shopping provided a degree of parity in access to goods between rural and urban consumers.
Montgomery Ward and Sears were early pioneers in the catalog or “wish book” based business model. A Greenwich connection to these momentous developments can be found in Julius Rosewald who was part owner of Sears, Roebuck and Company. The Rosenwald family owned a seaside residence called “The Anchorage” in what is today’s Byram Park. Rosenwald’s focus on effective management and diverse offerings particularly attractive to rural mail order customers helped Sears to become the dominant retail concern that it was for many years.
The rapid growth of the mail order houses clearly put enormous financial pressure on local, store-based businesses throughout the country. These merchants often had difficulty competing with the extensive inventories and discounted pricing that the mail order vendors could offer. However, as is the case today, it was important for shoppers to consider the benefits of supporting local businesses. Money spent locally supports friends and neighbors who own and/or work in local shops, bolsters the community tax base and provides for lively and inviting downtown shopping districts.
Local newspapers were largely supported by selling advertisements to local businesses, so it is not entirely surprising that they took a side against the proliferation and increasing dominance of the mail order industry. The local Greenwich News and Graphic newspaper published its own advertising against the new business model and noted that they would not accept advertising from the mail order houses in solidarity with local vendors.
We see echoes of the same issues with the great popularity of online shopping today. Vacant storefronts tell the story of the consequences of an evolving retail environment. While e-commerce is here to stay and offers important advantages, it is worth being mindful of the benefits of shopping locally when considering your next purchase.
