ABSTRACT
For centuries, retailing comprised direct face-to-face contact between a service provider and the customer. In traditional models of retail service encounters, face-to-face transactions predominated. Such encounters were composed of moments of truth between the service employee and the customer. This sociocommercial relationship meant that the retail service encounter was rich in moments of truth. But the situation didn’t stop there. Retail outlets also needed to develop business and often personal relationships with producers and their suppliers, including any necessary middlemen whose role was to ensure smooth transactional flows. In general there was a strict demarcation of roles within the supply chain from producer to retailer. Transportation of produce was in some cases the preserve of the producer. Storage and packaging was undertaken by the retailer. Needless to say, there were exceptions: a retailer might use its delivery vehicle to collect produce from a centralized facility such as a wholesale market or a warehouse. The market would then be a link in the supply chain with the responsibility for dividing large quantities of produce into smaller portions (from wholesale batches to individual retail qualities). When produce was especially bulky or required preservation (such as refrigeration), bulk storage or refrigeration facilities might be sited in areas where comparatively lower rents allowed larger premises. The invention of refrigerated vehicles allowed this type of facility to become mobile and shifted the task to another link in the logistical supply chain: the specialized transportation company. The increased size of such vehicles meant that deliveries could be made overnight in time for the next business day. Thus, packaging that was sized for an individual customer (such as wrapping meat, cheese, or fish) and done on a counter in the customer’s presence shifted earlier in the supply chain toward the producer. A number of retailer-customer moments of truth are lost. These are replaced by convenience for both retailer and customer. Convenience, such as speed of service or product delivery, low price, packaging, or ready availability of
the product, tends to be a ready substitute for detailed and personal service. Personal service in the traditional sense tends to be expensive (and often part of a luxury service offering). Innovations and novelty in retailing began to be seen in the mid-to late 1800s. The rise of the department store is attributed to mass migrations across oceans and from the countryside to urban centers, which led to cities becoming more populous during this period.1
