When the Internet was mainstream in the 1990s, many people didn’t know what possibilities existed though it. As consistent with new technologies, society was curious as to what it did, and also it took time for people to adapt. Now, in the 21st century, almost every home in the United States is connected to internet access somehow and just about every library in America has access to the internet. This was not possible back in the early 90s. With the internet accepted as a part of life, many companies benefit from this. One of these companies is Sears. Recently Sears and Roebuck was bought by Kmart and is now called Sears Holdings. Back when Sears was independent and just starting out, its sales revolved around its famous catalog business. In 1866, Richard Sears started out by selling wrist watches. In 1895, Sears released its catalog which at the time was only watches and jewelry.

As time progressed, the catalog started to include, apparel, furniture, instruments, guns, and much more. Sears pretty much invented the idea of mail order catalogs, which made him an entrepreneur for his era. Up until the 1990s, you could either go to the stores or order items though the mail order catalog. But because of the internet, the catalog era has mostly faded. With the internet, you can buy anything you could need from Sears online at its site. Although Sears still publishes catalogs they aren’t nearly as popular as they used to be with the use of the internet. There is no longer any need to fill out forms to mail in and wait until someone receives your order than processes it. Through online order forms and email, your orders are received instantly, but still like before, you have to pay for the shipping. However, some consumers are concerned about their credit card numbers being stolen from using it online and types of fraud. This shouldn’t be much of a concern if you’re ordering a product from a well known company.

The internet has improved its relationship with it’s consumers from using the internet, since you don’t have to leave your house and even go to the store to buy an item that you like. This concept has adapted pretty quickly and in recent years, the internet return policies have been improved greatly. When the concept of online shopping first came about, it was hard to find a good return policy if the product that you ordered was broke or it wasn’t exactly what you thought the item would be. In the coming years, as the internet grows in popularity, most retail stores will see less and less of a need to mail out their catalogs, if it wasn’t for mail order catalogs, Sears wouldn’t be what it is today. It was a revolutionary idea at the time in the 1900s but the Internet today is a revolutionary invention of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The reduction of catalogs mailed by Sears has not dampened its sales by any means; the company continues to grow record profits as well as it’s dealings with Kmart. Hopefully the merger will increase these two companies profitability and hold on the retail market as it battles with major competitor Wal-Mart, which is number once in retail.