Innovation in non-food retailing in the early nineteenth century: The curious case of the bazaar.

Commercial bazaars were a short-lived retail innovation of the first half of the nineteenth century, mainly in London. Rather like fairs had done earlier, they offered a wide range of clothing, household and fancy goods and entertainment. Like fairs they were about both shopping and leisure. But, unlike fairs, they were a controlled environment, permanent and fashionable. The norm was for counters to be let out daily, but some bazaars were essentially large shops. Traders in bazaars were often female, and at least some used bazaars as secondary outlets. Shop retailers complained about the unfair competition offered by bazaars, but many bazaars struggled commercially. Nevertheless they can be seen as precursors of department stores and covered market halls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]