[smelendez]

The idea seemed to be that the customer could check out with clerks around the store, but the cash was stored and counted in a secure area by trusted employees.

A decline in robberies probably also helped. Department stores like Sears and Macy's now have distributed cash registers around the store, sometimes in low traffic areas, but I've never heard of them getting robbed.

[londons_explore]

I suspect that in the past stores had more staff and more different departments, which were each smaller. Think more like market stalls. Each department might not have staff dedicated to payments, but instead roving salespeople designed to advertise the benefits of goods, and then to complete the sale there and then on the shop floor.

These salespeople probably weren't paid well, or identified well, so the shipowner couldn't trust them. Instead, for every payment, they need to get a receipt from a central place, which prevents any dishonesty.

[jdsully]

I used to work at Walmart. It wasn't uncommon for someone to go in with a crowbar at an unused register and take something. It just doesn't make the news. That's why they are always emptied on a regular schedule.