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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In the UK we have Argos, which works in the same way. Apart from maybe a few, selected promotional items, there is no stock on display. Instead you have touchscreen terminals (formerly laminated catalogues) from which you make your selection, and then go to the counter to collect your items.
As for why? Allows the store to offer a broader selection of merchandise in a relatively small space, while requiring fewer staff to operate. It’s quick, because you just choose your item, collect and go. Having little stock on display means less leakage due to theft, therefore you save the cost and drama of loss prevention.
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