Today most people shop in large department stores. They know that a department store will probably carry just about anything they need. But department stores are a fairly recent innovation. Years ago most people shopped in small stores which sold one type of product . A hat shop sold hats .a dress shop sold dresses .and so on . then ,in 1862 ,A.T. Stewart opened Stewart’s Cast Iron Palace .Standing eight stories high, it was the biggest store in the world
Stewart's store ,and others like it , carried something for everyone . Clothing,furniture , shoes --- all could be found in a "buyer's palace". They were different in other ways too. In small stores customers often bargained with the owner over price. A large store could not operate this way. Instead, owners put a fixed price on each item . the price was the same for everyone . It was a quicker, more effcient system
The big stores were open to all people . Even a penniless sightseer could enjoy a day walking through the store. this was very different from some small shops where a poorly dressed person would not be allowed inside the door! A.T. Stewart's Palace marked the beginning of a new era in American consumerism that has continued even to this day