I frequently drive past a retail site from my childhood that was once a store called “Service Merchandise”. It had an odd concept where every item was on display and you pulled a tag (like how you bought a video game at Toys R Us back in the 1980s and 1990s). You would take this tag to the register, pay, and then go stand at a conveyer belt where your items came out (like getting luggage at the airport if memory serves). What was the perceived benefit of organizing a store this way? Were there other “catalog stores” (a term my mother uses to refer to Service Merchandise when I ask about it) or was this unique to Service Merchandise?
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Reduced theft, but also reduced stocking costs.
You only needed ONE item on display (My experiences are all back in the 80s, so no online…) The rest can be stacked up in the warehouse that makes up most of the back. Less stuff on the floor means less time putting it on the floor and making it look good.
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