S1E3 - Sears, Amazon, And The Eternal Catalog The Nostalgic Nerds podcast

S1E3 - Sears, Amazon, and the Eternal Catalog

2M ago 39:10

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To answer the burning questions from the episode - Could you buy dogs from the Sears catalog? Yes.

Could you buy narcotics from the Sears catalog? Yes.

How does Renee pronounce "downtown?" Well, listen in.

By the 1970's Sears represented 1% of US GDP and two-thirds of American households shopped at Sears. Like for like, if you look at Amazon's US revenue (because Sears was mostly US in the 1970's), then Amazon is about 1.7% of US GDP today. Significant, but not orders of magnitude out. What has tech enabled for Amazon that Sears didn't have?

Renee and Marc explore the evolution of shopping, from the iconic Sears catalog to modern e-commerce giant Amazon. Reflecting on their experiences, they discuss how the catalog revolutionized retail for rural families and the cultural significance of flipping through glossy pages and how evolving the tech stack enabled broader reach for each of these businesses.

Join Renee and Marc as they discuss tech topics with a view on their nostalgic pasts in tech that help them understand today's challenges and tomorrow's potential.

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Chapters

1. S1E3 - Sears, Amazon, and the Eternal Catalog (00:00:00)

2. The Amazon of the Past (00:00:04)

3. Shopping in the 19th Century (00:01:08)

4. The Evolution of the Department Store (00:03:58)

5. The Rise of the Sears Catalog (00:06:42)

6. Sears: More Than Just Retail (00:13:47)

7. Amazon’s Business Model (00:15:49)

8. Technology and Retail Evolution (00:17:18)

9. The Shift in Consumer Experience (00:19:48)

10. The Future of Personalized Shopping (00:22:54)

11. Cultural Impact of Catalogs (00:27:47)

12. The Future of Amazon (00:31:35)

13. The Legacy of Catalog Shopping (00:38:12)

10 episodes