"The modern retail system has worked to dazzling effect. From the 19th century, store owners emerged from small beginnings to set in train an industry that has seen some operators become nationally, even globally, dominant. Along the way, they turned retailing into an art, and then a science....

Cover; Title page; Copyright page; Contents; Foreword; Introduction; Chapter 1: A Brief History of Retailing; The mercantile era; The modern era; The digital era; Chapter 2: Technology: The Crucial Retail Enabler; How retailers add value; Preselection; Demand aggregation; Sales advice; Physical movement...