[ghaff]

As a student in Cambridge MA in the late 70s, very few stores were open on a Sunday. I often played rugby matches on Saturday and I remember having to often find a few hours in the afternoon free of classes when I could do various shopping.

Just an anecdote but you don't have to go back to the truly distant past to find the vast majority of stores closed on Sunday.

[greglindahl]

The state of MA had "blue laws" requiring those stores to be closed on Sunday.

[craftyguy]

Lots of (smaller) towns in Europe are still like this. It's very difficult to find stores open on Sunday, usually the only ones that are open are the large chain grocery stores.

[kwhitefoot]

Here in Norway shops that open on Sunday must be less than 100 square metres in area or sell only perishable goods. There really is no need for anyone to have to shop on Sunday. We need a day when it is quiet. Most people here generally avoid doing noisy diy or mowing the lawn on Sundays too.