I remember when department stores ruled, and had actual pull. The “right” store could anchor your plaza/mall and they could demand aot. One of the oldest, but fun ones, was Service Merchandise. Even within the store you found what you wanted and filled out a ticket and brought it to a counter, your item would then come out of the warehouse on a conveyor belt which as a kid was like magic lol. Also going to a Kmart or similar store and putting that “must have” item on layaway was also cool.

This place was the cats pajamas!