page_title: Department store
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Department store / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Harding, Howell &amp; Co premises
context_page_description: A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic appearance in the middle of the 19th century, and permanently reshaped shopping habits, and the definition of service and luxury. Similar developments were under way in each of London, in Paris and in New York.
  Today, departments often include the following: clothing, furniture, home appliances, toys, cosmetics, houseware, gardening, toiletries, sporting goods, do it yourself, paint, and hardware. Additionally, other lines of products such as food, books, jewelry, electronics, stationery, photographic equipment, baby products, and products for pets are sometimes included. Customers generally check out near the front of the store in discount department stores, while higher-end traditional department stores include sales counters within each department. Some stores are one of many within a larger retail chain, while others are independent retailers.
context_section_description: The origins of the department store are disputed. Some sources consider the origins to be dry goods stores in general, a type of store that has roots in many countries. As these dry-goods stores became larger and more complex and more aspirational, the inspiration was especially the department stores of Paris, such as The Bon Marché opened in 1852, Printemps (1865) and the Samaritaine (1869). However BBC contends that the first department store was Harding, Howell & Co.’s Grand Fashionable Magazine at 89 Pall Mall in St James's, London. Please see the history by country below.
caption: Harding, Howell & Co., a contender for the title of first department store in the world
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