IKEA is still essentially this concept to this day, only the customer picks their own goods. In the UK there is a big chain called Argos which still does this,

IKEA is still essentially this concept to this day, only the customer picks their own goods. In the UK there is a big chain called Argos which still does this, right down to the employees fetching the goods. This might be related to the fact that big-box retail space in the UK is much harder to come by.