Retail Details: Pet Food Standards, History of Mail-Order Shopping

Humans have engaged in some form of trade for millennia. As technology and infrastructure developed, it became easier to conduct business at long distances, whether by mail or Internet. Our retail trivia for this month includes a couple of “firsts” as well as some surprising information about how consumers shop for pet food and liquor.

 

Did you know the first mail-order catalog published in the United States was Tiffany’s Blue Book? The luxury jeweler began publishing the catalog in 1845.

 

Did you know Pizza Hut claims to have made the first-ever online sale? According to a 2013 tweet, the famed pizza retailer sold a pizza online in 1994. The claim is controversial, however. According to the New York Times, a man bought a Sting album from the Net Market Company about a week prior to Pizza Hut’s pie sale.

 

Did you know women are twice as likely as men to shop with coupons? In fact, female consumers are more “deal” oriented than their male counterparts.

 

Did you know a recent Nielsen survey showed that 95 percent of pet owners considered their animals to be family members? Respondents also noted that they apply the same standards to pet food purchases as they do for their own family’s groceries. Pet owners expect foods to be formulated to meet the specific nutritional needs of their animals.

 

Did you know Millennials associate higher prices for alcoholic beverages with higher quality? According to an August 2015 Nielsen survey, 41 percent of Millennials believe in a correlation between price and quality, while only 27 percent of baby boomers feel the same way.