Illustrations of history

Yep! There was a social aspect to this - client-patron relationships were very prominent in Rome; as such, those shop fronts were often rented out to one's clients, rather than just the highest bidder. Depending on individual wealth, prominence, personal inclination, etc, this could be as distant and impersonal as one's political supporters ("Vote for me, filthy poor, and I'll let you in on prestigious opportunities"), or as close as an aristocrat's family friend ("Dear Gaius's grandfather saved my grandfather back in The Day, he's a good fellow and we try to help him").