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The mail-order business was begun in the late 1800s specifically for the millions of rural Americans who could not get to a store. It was made possible by the introduction of Rural Free Delivery of mail to far-flung points across the nation, and Parcel Post, which allowed packages of goods to be delivered by mail.
The first mail-order company-that is, a company that does the bulk of its sales and deliveries by mail-was Montgomery Ward, founded in 1872. It was followed in 1886 by Sears, Roebuck, and the mail-order business was soon in full swing.
The mail-order catalog brought a new world to the lives of rural Americans. Hundreds of fashion items, furnishings for the home, and tools for the farm were illustrated, described, and priced. The fashions were not necessarily exciting. But the variety and prices delighted rural women, who had been limited to the scant provisions of the general store or the peddler's pack. A whole new world of fashion was opened to these women, and they eagerly responded. By 1895, only 9 years after its first issue, the Sears, Roebuck catalog boasted 507 pages. The fledgling company posted sales at three-quarters of a million dollars that year.
By the 1920s, the presence of the automobile was felt even in rural areas. Mail-order companies began to open retail stores in these areas to meet the competition of city stores now accessible by automobile. By the 1930s, mail-order companies began to open catalog centers. Here customers could come and write up their own orders. Salespeople were available to help them in selecting merchandise from the catalog. In addition to catalog centers, each of the Big Three general-merchandise chains-Sears, Roebuck, JC Penney, and Montgomery Ward-today maintains a catalog desk in its retail stores. Here customers may place orders for catalog items that are not carried in that store's stock, and they can do this in person, by mail, or by telephone. The convenience of shopping at home by mail order is still widely used today.
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