30 Things Every 1970s Department Store Had That You Never See Anymore

How 1970s department stores became one-stop hubs for everything from tax prep to video games. See what disappeared from shops. In 1975, the department store was the center of American consumer life. Retailers like Sears offered services that seem alien to the modern shopper, including car insurance, professional tax preparation, and family portraits. This analysis examines the shift in the retail landscape and why these massive service offerings eventually vanished. We track the specific decline of these services, identifying 30 distinct items and functions that were standard in the 1970s retail environment but are now completely obsolete. By looking at the Montgomery Ward catalog and the launch of the Sears Tele-Games Super Pong, we can see how the business model of American department store history changed fundamentally over the last fifty years. ⏱ Chapters 0:00 One store, everything 0:51 The parking lot: Fotomat and the auto center 2:11 The main floor: a $2,100 watch 4:11 The fad corner 5:43 Floor 2: Crock-Pot, microwaves, Best Buy 9:08 Floor 3: Pong, sold in one store 13:14 Floor 4: Allstate, H&R Block, portraits 16:10 The credit office 17:02 The catalog desk 19:02 Number 30: the garage This video explains retail history from public reporting and company histories. It makes no claims about anyone's intent. The store in the video is imagined, built from what Sears, Montgomery Ward and JCPenney sold. 📚 Sources [1] Atari home Pong and Sears Tele-Games [2] The Allstate Corporation history (FundingUniverse); Wikipedia "Allstate". [3] H & R Block, Incorporated history (FundingUniverse): outlets in 147 Sears stores in 1972; H&R Block… [4] Fstoppers, "The Rise and Fall of the Mall Portrait Studio"; PetaPixel, 5 April 2013. [5] Fotomat history [6] JCPenney exits auto centers, 1983 [7] Pulsar (watch) [8] MIT Technology Review, "Digital watches and pet rocks", 22 Feb 2011. [9] Computer History Museum: TI DataMath 2500, introduced September 1972 at $119.95. [10] Toronto Public Library digital archive: smoking banned in most stores, bylaw 1977. [11] Kimball tag [12] History.com, mood ring history; Wikipedia "Mood ring" [13] Pet Rock (Wikipedia); Mental Floss, "Hard Sell: A History of the Pet Rock". [14] Leisure suits: Intelligent Collector; Rare Historical Photos. [15] The Rival Company history (Reference for Business); NPR/KCUR 22 Sep 2021. [16] IEEE Spectrum, microwave oven history; The Henry Ford, Amana Radarange. [17] House of Fabrics company history [18] Best Buy [19] Best Buy corporate: "35 years ago today, a tornado transformed Best Buy". [20] Eight-track tapes [21] Smith Corona Corp. history (Encyclopedia.com); typewriterdatabase.com [22] Christian Science Monitor, "CB sales regain a steady footing", 21 Apr 1980. [23] First Lady Betty Ford speaking into a CB radio, May 1976 [24] Electronic Technician/Dealer, Feb 1977: EIA figures, ~10M CB sets sold in 1976. [25] Radio Alpha (CatalogIt): CB sales figures, citing Popular Electronics June 1976. [26] Click Americana, vintage CB radios [27] NAMM Oral History: Wayne Seppala. [28] Polaroid SX-70 [29] Boston Globe, "Sears was once the place for sporting goods", 8 Nov 2018. [30] Sears Wish Book [31] Harrison County Historical Museum, "Every Toy a Kid Could Want: The Wish Book" [32] Eye Care Centers of America history [33] Maryland Commission for Women, "Where Credit Is Due", 1975; Federal Reserve Bank of New York circular on… [34] Christian Science Monitor, 25 Oct 1985: Montgomery Ward ends its catalog. [35] Deseret News, "Sears to close over 100 stores", 25 Jan 1993. [36] Retail Dive, "How Sears arrived at death's door". [37] History of Amazon Subscribe for weekly business history breakdowns. Tell us in the comments which defunct retail service you miss the most.