- Mail order became viable in the late 1800s because of the expansion of the US rail system, post office regulations that allowed for catalog mailers at 1 cent/pound, and Rural Free Delivery.
- The first Sears catalog was published in 1894 with the slogan "The Cheapest Supply House on Earth".
- Its target audience was rural America, which in 1900 was 60% of the US population. This was a deeply underserved community, often with just a thinly stocked general store to supply all their needs.
- The 1903 catalog added the commitment of "Your money back if you are not satisfied", reassuring customers that buying a product sight-unseen was a viable way to shop.
In studying this early bible of the American consumer, three points struck us as particularly salient when comparing 1920 to 2019:
#1: The comparison to Amazon.
- Our catalog was published 25 years after Sears began its mail order business; Amazon is 25 years old today.
- The scope of the Sears offering in 1920 was every bit as vast as Amazon's is today. The company offered everything from men's/women's/children's clothing to furniture, appliances, jewelry, home entertainment, toys, and even entire houses and farm buildings.
- Sear's merchandising method was exactly the same as what you see on Amazon's website. Every item for sale had a picture, description, and price. The catalog is organized by the type of product offered for sale, something akin to "If you like this item, you might also like this..."
- One key difference: Sears offered credit on expensive items. If, for example, you wanted to buy a "New Freedom" coal/wood stove, you could pay $86.50 ($1,100 today) or make a first payment of $10 and then $7.50/month thereafter until you had paid $95.50. That's a 7.1% annualized interest rate, in case you were wondering. Amazon, of course, takes credit cards.
#2: Early stage technology.
- The new technologies in 1920 were electric-powered appliances and phonograph players. Radio was still some years off - the only items in the 1920 catalog were Morse code transceivers.
- A 110-volt vacuum cleaner retailed for $57.50 - $68.00 ($740 - $870 today). For reference, a top-rated vacuum on Amazon goes for $70 today.
- A hand-crank record player went for $30 (basic tabletop) to $225 (solid wood standup), or $385 - $2,900 today. A Bluetooth speaker today goes for about $20.
- A basic bicycle sold for $53, or $680 in today's dollars.
#3: A big idea can go a long way.
- Our 1920 catalog is a relatively early manifestation of a business that continued to prosper and grow for another +50 years. In 1974, at the height of its powers, Sears built the tallest building in the world in Chicago to house its home office.
- The company started opening retail stores in the 1920s, predominantly in urban areas to augment its rural business, and eventually had thousands of retail locations. It built its own brands like Craftsman tools, Kenmore appliances and DieHard automotive batteries.
- In 1931 Sears created Allstate Insurance and by 1934 it had agents in every store. In 1981 it added broker Dean Witter and real estate company Coldwell Banker. In 1985 it created the Discover credit card. It was even an early Internet adopter, developing the Prodigy system with IBM.
Via Nick Colas of DataTrek Research
Reader Comments
When someone ordered something from Sears, there was no issue of being selectively cheated (if Sears cheated the customer, it was ALL customers, equally) - everything was clear and up front. Amazon, on the other hand, plays games with variable pricing depending on customer zip code, how often the customer may have looked at that particular item, claiming "sale" prices that really aren't, and a plethora of other deceptive practices that, if not explicitly illegal, are certainly unethical.
Yep! I do exactly as you do, even if it means that I have to pay a higher price.
It has gotten to the point that usually I buy from Amazon ONLY if I cannot find a particular item elsewhere at a somewhat reasonable price. Other places also play these unethical games, but not nearly as blatantly or to the same extent as Amazon.
And Sears catalogs were the first exposure to anything sexual via the bra ads.