Shopping was one of the gameplay elements on Wheel of Fortune.
History[]
"Try not to hit that black space, Bankrupt, because if you do, you lose your cash but not your merchandise, because once you buy a prize, it's yours to keep."
"The prices of the prizes were furnished to the contestants prior to the show and have been rounded off to the nearest dollar. Gift certificates do not include sales tax."
Arguably the most famous retired element. The Shopper's Bazaar pilot used an "Accounting Department": all money earned by the players carried from round to round, but was only "banked" after solving a puzzle; the money was applied to an item she wanted, and once a prize's value was reached her money was applied to the next item, but prizes could only be won by solving a puzzle.
The 1974 pilots introduced the more familiar setup where players could spend their winnings on prizes in a showcase. Probably when the series landed, and definitely by July 15, 1975, the contestants put the showcases in a 1-2-3 order before the show; if that player solved a puzzle, they spent their money at the showcase they put as #1, with subsequent solves by the same player using the second and third platforms respectively. By January 19, 1976 (the start of the All Star Dream Machine week), this was changed to simply have the show order the platforms and basically "tie" them to each of the first three puzzles.
Shopping was unofficially retired from nighttime on October 5, 1987 with the Big Month of Cash, an experimental format change that seamlessly became permanent, while daytime kept it through June 1989.
Contestants could put money "on account" anytime during a shopping round, which allowed the money to carry over to the next round at the risk of being lost to Bankrupt. From at least July 15, 1975 onward, the winnings could also be placed on a gift certificate if a contestant did not have enough money left over to buy another prize; as a result, almost every contestant chose the gift certificate. It is believed that even before this change, any remaining money that the contestant who solved the final puzzle had, or all the money if a contestant didn't want to but anything at all (as was the case with contestant Charlotte), was placed on a gift certificate that would be given to the contestant at the end of the show (so they could buy their own gifts). All gifts and prizes were taxable.
According to at least one recollection, players who claimed a gift certificate would be guaranteed at least $25 for it, regardless of how little they actually placed on it during the game. If this was the case, it is not known to have been stated on-air.
To ensure that players would have money to spend, there was a $200 house minimum for contestants who solved with less than that amount banked, although at least one game (a nighttime episode in late September 1984) omitted a shopping round because there were no remaining prizes under $200. (It is believed that the house minimum was originally $100; if this was the case, it was increased to $200 by November 6, 1975.)
It should be noted that contestants did not have to spend all of their winnings on prizes, and could choose to put winnings on account without buying anything. One known instance of a contestant immediately placing all winnings on account without buying a prize occurred on January 18, 1978.
Probably the most fondly-remembered part of the shopping rounds is the ceramic Dalmatian, which began to be offered around 1980 and became the show's mascot by March 1987. In the years since, it has become a semi-cultural icon associated with Wheel: the Retro Week "Shopping" wedge was a picture of the Dalmatian, both Pat and Vanna own one (and have displayed them on occasion), it appears occasionally on the show in other ways, the Wheel Watchers Club released an exclusive bobblehead, one is present at the Sony Studios Wheel Hall of Fame (with original pricetag), and it even appeared on the April 12, 2005 episode of Jeopardy! At least on Wheel, as opposed to the manufacturer, the Dalmatian's name is Sheldon.
Throughout Season 30, Sheldon was hidden somewhere on-set in every episode.