Sears - What It Meant To Me

Sears Christmas Wish Book 2013

Sears will be moving out of some prime location malls, including my home mall as business is not what it used to be and this news is leaving me a little melancholy.

My memories of Sears are mostly about catalogue shopping. I remember as a new mother and with toddlers, how much I  depended on Sears to get what I needed for my children, my home and myself. With three small children, packing them up and leisurely strolling through the mall was not an option. I did my browsing and shopping through Sears catalogues, my online experience of the day.

Sears catalogues, and there were many throughout the year, were looked forward to but none more so than the Christmas Wish Book. The Wish Book had its pages of gifts under $10, $15, $20, etc., any toy you could imagine, games, party clothes, coats, jewellery and oh yes, fruit cakes although I have not seen those recently. The pages of Christmas decorations! Were homes really decorated like that? Not mine with three active kids but I could live vicariously through the catalogue. As my daughters got older, they would go through the Wish Book and mark exactly what they wanted for Christmas; it made my life so much easier.

Browsing the Sears catalogue was stress-free and somewhat therapeutic; no rush, no fuss, no hustle, no bustle. I would sit at the table with catalogues and flip from page to page and be inspired, envisioning how each room would look with an item(s) or zone in on an outfit or three that became must haves. Between the catalogue and the store, I have at some point, made purchases for every room. How much more simple could it be to place an order? You chit chatted with a customer service rep who, after the order was placed, would ask if you were interested in hearing what was on sale and of course who couldn't use a couple more towels or another set of sheets? Any items on backorder were identified and you were given an expected delivery date otherwise, the order was delivered next day and at that time, there were no additional delivery charges and the driver would take a cheque. Eventually, delivery charges were added and orders took a few more days. As the girls got older, we would shop in the store but catalogue browsing was still something I enjoyed and I would still place orders.

As time marched on, my girls developed their own style and we started shopping at the new stores that were popping up but Sears still drew us in and we could always find something we liked.  For me, it was their excellent selection of eye-catching, high quality handbags. Often someone would compliment me on a bag and would be surprised when I told them where I bought it. Just this year we made a trip to the store to buy bathing suits and beach wraps for our March Break trip. One stop worked for all of us.

I am sad to see Sears, that tried so hard to be everything to everyone, close some stores. Sears filled a need for my young family and for that I'm grateful. I look back fondly and I hope Sears will be able to revamp, be sustainable and help create memories of what a department store still could be for some. We all want the best for an old friend.

Will keep you posted.