A person who visits stores to browse or purchase goods. Someone engaged in the activity of shopping for items.
From Middle English 'shoppe' meaning workshop or stall, from Old French 'eschoppe'. The agent suffix '-er' was added as retail shopping became a distinct consumer activity in the 18th-19th centuries.
The modern shopper is a relatively recent human invention - before the Industrial Revolution, most people made what they needed or bartered with neighbors. Today's 'retail therapy' phenomenon shows how shopping has evolved from necessity into entertainment and even emotional regulation.
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