Retail trade is not a self-standing phenomenon but forms part of an extensive distribution system connecting producers and consumers. Shopkeepers play a role in this distribution system, but they are not alone in doing so. In this chapter, we take a closer look at the different links in what is sometimes the long chain along which goods are driven, from producers all the way to the households where they are used and ultimately consumed. This also gives us an opportunity to distinguish more precisely than we have until now between retailers and other suppliers of consumer goods. But let us begin at the beginning and consider the question of what exactly is meant by distributive trade and when the need arises in society for the services of middlemen.

Distribution systems in the US and England

In economies where there is still little division of labour, the roles of producer and consumer tend to overlap. Households mainly produce for their own needs, and only a small part of that which is produced is exchanged or handed over to secular or religious authorities in tax or as a fee for services rendered. Consumers’ needs are limited and not particularly varied— which is also necessary, because there are few means for purchasing goods that are not produced in the household or the immediate vicinity.