Ian Mitchell's book examines retail trade in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries from both sides of the purchase. On the one side, peddlers, shops, markets, and bazaars supplied the goods; and on the other side, the rise of consumerism provided the demand. To tell this story, Mitchell uses a wide range of primary sources, including court records, newspapers, commercial directories, letters, and account books. The inclusion of details from these sources means that the book has the rich flavor of everyday life. For example, Mitchell describes one town's request for a new market, gives the floor plan of a Norfolk bazaar, and uses a letter from a young woman in Derbyshire to her brother in London to illustrate the importance of fashion.

Mitchell's main claim in the book is that, while retail markets did change over the period, the change was gradual. This claim is not particularly surprising considering that neither the Industrial Revolution nor the Agricultural Revolution were as sudden as the terms suggest but were the result of gradual change. Retailing was certainly different in 1850 from what it had been in 1700. Selling moved from temporary markets to permanent shops, and shops became larger and less personal. In the nineteenth century the improved transportation of the industrial age helped unify national fashion, increase competition, and encourage branding and branch stores. At the same time, however, elements of older retailing practices survived into the nineteenth century. Old and the new existed side by side, a retail market too complex to be summarized briefly; Mitchell illustrates this complexity by describing the wide variety of ways in which retailing was accomplished.

On the sellers' side peddlers, small shops, and markets continued to supply a large portion of goods purchased. Peddlers and small shops changed little over the period. Markets evolved as more grain was sold by sample or at the farm gate rather than in the public market, changes that were not welcomed by all and remained contested. Though markets accounted for a smaller portion of purchases over time, they remained important enough that many towns built imposing market halls in the early nineteenth century. In general, over the course of the eighteenth century retailing became less transient and less often combined with production of goods.

At the same time new methods of selling promised to revolutionize the industry. The nineteenth century saw the rise of a new kind of shop, with larger inventory and fixed prices. Collections of shops such as arcades and bazaars attracted consumers and looked forward to the emerging department store. Mitchell pays particular attention to the evolution of Elizabeth Brown's shop in Bradford into a large department store. Some stores opened branches in different towns, making retailing increasingly national.

Mitchell is particularly interested in arcades and bazaars. Arcades were covered passages with many shops, and bazaars were large collections of sellers, often for the benefit of a charity. Both brought many sellers together in the same location and encouraged shopping as a leisure activity. Early department stores were sometimes connected to previous bazaars. The owners of Jolly and Son in Bath had experience in a bazaar, and Kendal Milne of Manchester moved into a location that had previously been a bazaar.

On the buyer's side, some moralists opposed luxury, urging people to be content with what they had, but other writers, such as Bernard Mandeville, pointed out the benefits of luxury to the country's industry. These “luxury debates” illustrate the point that contradictory ideas could exist at the same time. The moralists do not seem to have won the debate, as shoppers continued to seek out luxury and fashion. Collecting, which divorced the desire for goods from any practical use value, also increased demand. Porcelain and books were common collectables. Over the eighteenth century buying goods became more about individual choice, and shopping became an important leisure activity in polite society.

The reader will find an overview of retailing that includes numerous details from primary sources. Mitchell's discussion of consumption is similar to Maxine Berg's Luxury and Pleasure (Oxford, 2005) but is less extensive and focuses less on the particular goods that were purchased. The discussion of sellers might be compared to Danielle van den Heuvel's discussion of Dutch markets in Women and Entrepreneurship (Amsterdam, 2007), though Mitchell does not focus on women's role. The book does not make a controversial claim, but does provide a broad survey of how goods were bought and sold in England