The largest department stores in the mid-1960s were Macy's, Hudson's, and Marshall Field. Hudson had 25 stories; two of its four subterranean floors were basement shops, where 60 departments carried out up to 25% of the store's business. At its peak in mid-century, Hudson's employed over 12,000 workers and welcomed 100,000 shoppers a day. Hudson also had its own telephone exchange (Capitol) and the third largest switchboard in the nation, larger only than the Pentagon and the Bell System. In every major city, downtown department stores were huge, with elevators and escalators. In Chicago, Marshall Field's flagship store took up an entire city block and featured a 13-story lighted atrium. Many other cities had their own iconic stores: Dayton's in Minneapolis, Wanamaker's in Philadelphia, Kaufmann's in Pittsburgh, Bamberger's in Newark, The Bon Marche in Seattle, Bullock's in Los Angeles, The Emporium in San Francisco, Famous-Barr in St. Louis, Filene's in Boston, Foley's in Houston, Goldwater's in Phoenix, LS Ayres in Indianapolis, Lazarus in Columbus, Meier and Frank in Portland, Oregon. Eventually many of these stores came under the Macy's Corporation. The department store as we know it today, is a large retail establishment selling a wide variety of personal and household products, which began in the 19th century. Downtown department stores dominated the retail scene throughout the first half of the 20th century. Department stores stocked virtually everything: clothing, shoes, cosmetics, jewelry, toys, books, sporting goods, gourmet foods, appliances, and furniture. They had restaurants and services such as photography studios, post offices, all while holding special events such as fashion shows... in the center of the paper... changes in the decades that followed. There are many reasons why Americans often prefer online shopping to visiting stores in person: no need for a trip to the mall, no pressure from salespeople, the allure of bargain shopping sites, and fewer distractions. Online shopping helps consumers focus and they can even find better deals on the Internet than they would get in a mall. The benefits of avoiding malls are even greater than shopping inside overwhelming buildings, as some actually like online shopping better. While about a third of malls (and only the largest, newest ones) are still going strong across the United States, the once-attractive advantages of malls are just not capable of convincing customers to leave their homes, not when we can purchase items at shopping malls. a discounted price online from our homes while we surf the Internet, use social media or even work.