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Article: Retailing Industry
- Article from:
- Dictionary of American History
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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RETAILING INDUSTRY
RETAILING INDUSTRY.
The modern U.S. retail industry is dominated by huge retail giants owning thousands of stores in the United States and in other countries. According to the 1997 business census, retail sales in this country totaled nearly $2.5 trillion. This is fifty times the $48 billion of the 1929 business census. The size of individual stores has also grown enormously and there are actually fewer stores today than in 1929.
The roots of the industry in the United States go back to itinerant peddlers, small shopkeepers, and merchant importers that began in the early days of Boston, New York, and Philadelphia. Thousands of men walked the countryside selling the ...