A Historic Look into Shop Shelving

When looking back throughout history there are a few common themes that remain true throughout. Themes including war, the advancement of technology and medicine are some examples. Another example though is the continued development of trade. Now as this is a shop shelving blog, it’s the way in which shelving has developed in line with trade that it is interesting. Here is a look at how shop shelving might have been used throughout history.

Shop Shelving and the Romans

Widely considered to be a civilisation that gave us many systems, some still used in this day and age, the Romans where great pioneers of trade. Although market places and places to trade goods where nothing new, it was perhaps the Romans that brought together market places and specific selling locations, where a whole manor of goods could be found displayed on shop shelving. The shelves where most likely constructed from a local woods and attached to a cart or collapsible stand that could be placed under a tent like construction. The shop shelving could be used to display fired pottery and beaded jewellery made form shells or other natural products. If you have seen the Hollywood film Gladiator, I believe they have faithfully rein-acted a market seen where wooden shop shelving is clearly displayed. 

Shop Shelving in Medieval Times Through to The Victorians

In some ways shop shelving never really changed from Roman times right up to the Victorians. Market stalls where probably still the most common way to sell produce. Farmers and local vegetable growers would be able to trade their items as opposed to a modern day row of shops. The shops that did exist in medieval times however would of almost certainly used wooden shop shelving, although they may have used sturdier metal brackets forged most likely from Iron.

The Victorians and Modern Shop Shelving?

It was the perhaps the Victorians who truly embraced the idea of shopping high streets, as well as having a market area. Shops where established that sold a whole manor of items and used mainly wooden shop shelving, due to its cheaper production cost.  As the decades moved forwards, shop owners needed to find ways in which there shelving could be moved around and wood, would likely be proving to be fragile and unsuitable for continued movement. Shelving constructed from steel or aluminium started to be developed and mounted on to casters (wheels) - bringing us to the modern day. Super market shelves are still constructed from metal and now feature designs such as moveable shelves for height adjustment and storage.

It’s interesting to learn of how shop shelving has changed throughout history and although this is only a speculative snap shot, it would be fascinating to learn how other historic civilisations displayed their wares.

Materials Used in the Construction of Shop Shelving

We come into contact with shop shelving on nearly a daily basis and it’s very easy to take it for granted. Whether shopping in a supermarket or a convenience store the shelves can be designed very differently, but ultimately with the same purpose – to display products.  Depending on the products or goods being stocked the shelves have to adapt to three main criteria. The first is the products weight and the shelves ability to display it safely. The second is the shelves adjustability, so it can move depending on the products size. Thirdly is the material it’s constructed from. For example if it was displaying icy or wet products it should be water proof. The material a shelf is developed from is the key to all the criteria being met. Here is a look then at the most common shelving materials used today.

Shop Shelving Made from Wood

Wood has been a main staple of shop shelving manufacture dating back to a time even before the RomanEmpire. Originally used for constructing market stalls and shelves in temples and places of worship, wood quickly established itself as a malleable shelving material. Another benefit of wood is its low cost to produce, especially in times of old where trees were in abundance. Wood has very high strength tolerances, especially when made into a ply type construction. The only issues with using wood for shop shelving are that unless it’s static the shelves can ware quickly and splinter around the edges. Also Placing then in wet environments can lead to the wood splitting or swelling, again making them less than ideal.

Shop Shelving Made from Metal

As time has moves on metals and their uses are becoming more common. However in the grand scheme of things it wasn’t until the last hundred years or so that we started to see metal shop shelving appears in stores. The production of metal in the past has traditionally been quite expensive, but with advances in technology and manufacture metal shelving has become widely available. The advantages to metal shop shelving are numerous and include consistent strength, the option to be used and re-used and ability to withstand wet conditions.

Although other materials can be used in the manufacture of shelving, wood and metal are the most common. The next time your out shopping though, why not look at the type of shop shelving being used to see if you can spot other materials.

An introduction to Shop Shelving

As the first post on this blog, it’s perhaps only right that we first look at the definition of shop shelving. We are all familiar with shelving and it’s no surprise as it’s been used in different settings throughout the ages.  Shelving is a fantastic way to maximise space by using walls or open spaces via mounted shelf stands. Shop shelving has grown in perfect tandem alongside high street shops and market stalls, giving trades people an avenue to display their various wares. The correct definition of shop shelving then is, a shelf or platform located within a shop or shopping environment.

How is Shop Shelving Different?

Now that we are aware of shop shelving’s definition, it would be interesting to see how it differs from traditional home shelving.  Firstly most home shelving has two main functions, to look decretive and to hold only a moderate amount of weight. The standard domestic shelving unit only has to contend with a few books of ornaments and rarely has to take any really load. Secondly home shelving only comes in two real designs, the racking or book case style and the fixed wall shelf. Although these items can look similar to shop shelving they are different in many ways. Shop shelving has to be able to deal with a great many retail situations, hence the variety in designs. Some small shops require shelving that is mounted to a stand and base with wheels so that it can be freely moved around a shop floor, maximising floor space potential. Other shops require the shelves to be collapsible so that they can be stored in a back room or warehouse. In some retail environments the shelves have to be able to have their heights altered to accommodate new goods and produce. With all these different applications in mind, it’s easy to see how such a plethora of designs have emerged.

It’s quite engaging to investigate the different practical applications for shop shelving and also the innovative designs that have been developed to cure particular retail conundrums.