25 Department Store Services That Made Shopping Feel Special

25 Department Store Services That Made Shopping Feel Special Department store services that made shopping feel special: free gift wrapping, a doll hospital, a post office on the ninth floor at Macy's, and a charge card that said "Mrs." followed by your husband's name. These are 25 things department stores did for their customers, what they were, who they were for, and what happened to them. Some are gone. Some changed hands. And a few turned into companies you still know today. From Marshall Field's and Hudson's to Wanamaker's, Jordan Marsh, Rich's and Sears, this is what the big stores did for you. In this video: • The Allstate agent who started at a card table at the 1933 World's Fair • How department stores helped build UPS • Rembrandts and Picassos at Sears, for five dollars down • The Nordstrom tire story, and whether it really happened • The 1974 law that changed whose name was on the charge card Chapters: 0:00 When the charge card said "Mrs." 1:11 #25 The information desk 1:52 #24 Repair counters and the doll hospital 2:32 #23 The ladies' lounge 3:22 #22 Gift wrapping 4:05 #21 The children's playroom 4:51 #20 The post office upstairs 5:26 #19 The optical counter 6:09 #18 The store's own parking garage 6:49 #17 The free shuttle bus 7:24 #16 The store auditorium 8:01 #15 The college shop 8:48 #14 The teen fashion board 9:25 #13 Charm school 10:33 #12 The sheet music demonstrator 11:24 #11 The bridal registry 12:12 #10 The Sears portrait studio 13:04 The Nordstrom tire story: true or false? 13:56 #9 The Sears Auto Center 14:47 #8 The department store radio station 16:27 #7 The Hearst art sale 17:27 #6 Fine art at Sears 18:36 #5 Allstate at Sears 19:54 #4 Return anything 20:55 #3 Air conditioning 21:58 #2 Delivery 23:21 #1 Credit in your own name 24:58 What the department store really sold Research note: Dates and details come from sources including the Encyclopedia of Chicago, Historic Detroit, the Wilmette History Museum, the Smithsonian, Yale University's Vincent Price papers, JSTOR Daily, the National Women's History Museum, the New Georgia Encyclopedia, American Heritage, Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia, Time magazine, the Getty Research Institute, and Nordstrom. Where sources disagree, the video uses the best-documented version. Store details are as of October 2026. Watch next: 25 FORGOTTEN Things Every American Store Had That Nobody Remembers    • 25 FORGOTTEN Things American Stores Had — ...   Which one do you remember? The lounge, the charm school, or the Sears portrait with the whole family in matching sweaters? Tell me in the comments, and tell me which store. Subscribe to Storefront Memories for a new piece of vanished America every week. #VanishedAmerica #DepartmentStores #Nostalgia