Cummisky's Self-Service Supermarket, 1950s

In the early 1900s, South-East customers were served by shop assistants who helped them choose what they wanted to buy. Clothes were expensive and there were fewer clothes shops. Many people bought material and paper patterns and made their own clothes at home.At that time, shops were not self-service. Customers were waited on by serving staff and in many cases, the products on sale were kept behind the counter. Before this type of shop was replaced by modern supermarkets, the first self-service shops looked something like the one in the above picture picture.