Buying and selling are fundamental activities pervading almost every society. Even as children, we are introduced to the world of shopping in a playful manner. Children’s play shops, which mimic the retail trade, have been popular toys for boys and girls ever since the early 19th century. The children’s play shop provides the first contact with the principle of consumerism and the acquisition of goods. The behaviour of the seller and the buyer as well as the psychological process of buying and selling are practised in a playful environment. The replicated miniature products are often identical to those in the “real” shops and thus already represent a form of promotion of common goods.
