The idea for the show came from co-creator Jeremy Lloyd's brief period in the early 1950s working at Simpsons of Piccadilly, a real clothing store. The floor walker character Captain Peacock has also been credited to the former Clements of Watford department store.

The series originated as an unsold standalone pilot for BBC's Comedy Playhouse. It was rescued from obscurity when the BBC needed to fill a schedule gap after television coverage of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre interrupted normal programming, leading to the pilot's broadcast on 8 September 1972.

Despite the pilot receiving poor critical reception, David Croft's reputation as a writer allowed him to convince the BBC's Head of Light Entertainment, Bill Cotton, to commission a full series.

Bill Cotton reportedly told David Croft to 'get rid of the poof' regarding the character of Mr Humphries, but Croft refused, threatening to quit the show entirely by saying, 'If the poof goes, I go.'

The pilot episode was originally conceived with Mr Lucas as the lead character, meant as a career vehicle for actor Trevor Bannister, but the characters of Mr Humphries and Mrs Slocombe proved more popular with audiences and became the breakout stars instead.

John Inman's catchphrase 'I'm free!' was first spoken by Mrs Slocombe in the original pilot. Inman reportedly began using the line himself behind the scenes, amusing colleagues so much that Mollie Sugden suggested the writers give him the line permanently starting in Series 2.

Actor Kenneth Waller, who played 'Old' Mr Henry Grace, was actually much younger than his character and used aging makeup for the role, similar to how Clive Dunn was made up for Dad's Army.

The pilot was originally recorded in colour, but the videotape was later wiped in the 1970s, leaving only a black-and-white 16mm film telerecording made for international syndication; it was restored to colour in 2009 using techniques previously developed for a Dad's Army episode.

Trevor Bannister left the show after the seventh series because a theatre job conflicted with the taping schedule; when the BBC refused his request to change the schedule, he departed rather than continue.

The show's theme tune features an imaginary lift girl (voiced by Stephanie Gathercole, who also played Mr Rumbold's first secretary) announcing floors over musique concrète sounds of a cash register, composed by David Croft and Ronnie Hazlehurst.

The theme tune has been referenced or covered by several musical acts, including an homage in Ladytron's song 'Paco!', a cover by Australian band Regurgitator, a lugubrious version by Coil, and a sample used in Jamelia's 2006 song 'Window Shopping'.

An American adaptation pilot called Beane's of Boston was produced by Garry Marshall in 1979, but CBS passed on it and no series resulted. Jeremy Lloyd later said casting his own Laugh-In partner Alan Sues as the Mr Humphries equivalent was a mistake.

The 2016 one-off revival episode, set in 1988 and featuring a new cast including Jason Watkins as Mr Humphries, aired to universally poor reviews for both the writing and acting, and no further episodes were made.

In Australia, Are You Being Served? was the top-rated television show of 1978, watched by 2,255,000 people across five cities.