> far more consumerism today. people have lots of useless junk such as laptops, waterbottles, makeup etc > domestic servants. people had cooks, nannies, maids etc to do the shopping and they shopped early in the day and also shops had lots of delivery boys. if you read old novels or memoirs people would buy something in the butchers or grocery store and "the butchers boy" or the "delivery boy" would deliver it later on a bicycle. there was far more labour employed in the service industry.  therefore the average person especially the middle class didn't need to carry things around
Ireland