Before 1916, shopping meant telling the clerk what you wanted. Then Piggly Wiggly let people grab a basket and choose for themselves. The self-service store was born — and with it, the modern supermarket. 🛒 #retailhistory #PigglyWiggly #shoppingevolution

Marshall Field’s opened in 1881 on State Street in Chicago and became one of America’s most iconic department stores. The phrase “The customer is always right” started here. Today, the building houses Macy’s, but many Chicagoans still call it Field’s. The name may be gone, the legacy isn’t.

In 1872, Montgomery Ward launched the first mail-order catalog in the U.S.—one sheet, 163 items.
Farmers could finally shop without leaving home.
📦 Proto-ecommerce, baby.
#ShoppingScience

What is shopping science? It’s the dark art of figuring out why Linda bought a flamingo mug at 2AM. It’s data, psychology, and a little bit of "oops, I added it to cart".

AI is everywhere, but few are nailing it. 85% of marketers use it, only 1 in 4 feel they’re good at it. Content & emails = wins. Chatbots = rising. Visual search? Meh. Reminder: AI isn’t the hero. You are.
📊 [Ascend2 AI Report 2025]

In the early 1900s, luxury brands proudly bore founders’ names — Patek Philippe, Cartier, Vuitton.
But Hans Wilsdorf wanted something bigger, timeless, beyond a man’s name.
A word short, sharp, and mechanical.
A brand called Rolex.

Outlet shopping's start? Surplus goods found new homes. Anderson-Little (men's suits) opened the 1st off-site store in Fall River, MA, 1936, selling direct.  1980s: multi-store centers boomed (Vanity Fair in PA). Practical roots to today's global presence (~186 US centers).