Which retailer launched the first mail-order catalog in 1872?

Montgomery Ward launched the first widely recognized general-merchandise mail-order catalog in 1872.

Aaron Montgomery Ward started the business in Chicago with two partners and about $1,600 in capital. His first catalog was a single sheet listing 163 products, allowing rural customers to order goods directly rather than relying solely on small-town merchants with limited inventories and higher prices.

Ward’s model used central purchasing, railroad distribution, and the postal system to reach farming communities. The business grew rapidly: its catalog expanded to 240 pages and 10,000 items by 1883. The company’s approach helped establish Chicago as a major center of American mail-order retail.

Sears is a frequent mix-up because it became Montgomery Ward’s best-known rival, but Richard Warren Sears did not enter the general-catalog business until 1896. Earlier forms of mail-order selling existed, so Ward is best understood as the pioneer of the first major general-merchandise catalog business aimed at a mass American market.