Abstract
This paper explores the competitive dynamics of technical innovations and retailer strategies through a historical study of the role of market devices in contributing to price and loyalty competition strategies in the US grocery retail market during the 20th century. Our findings show that recurrent shifts between emphasizing price and using various customer loyalty arrangements were closely linked to, and supported by, the introduction of seemingly mundane technical devices. Our analysis of retailer competition incorporates the role of technical innovations as endogenous to retail dynamics, which is important to understand historical development, but also highly relevant for contemporary analyses given the current proliferation of digital devices within retailing.