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A history of shopping: the missing link between retail and consumer revolutions

A history of shopping: the missing link between retail and consumer revolutions Purpose – This paper aims to reconsider and reframe the relationship between retail and consumer revolutions, arguing that the two have too often been separated empirically and conceptually. Design/methodology/approach – Reviewing a broad range of literature, the paper discussed the ways in which the historiography of retailing and consumption might be brought together by a greater focus on and theorisation of shopping. Findings – The paper highlights equivocation in the literature about the extent to which retailing was transformed during the eighteenth century in response to consumer changes. Whilst some aspects were dramatically transformed, others remained largely unchanged. It draws on a rather smaller body of work to illustrate the ways in which shopping practices were instrumental in connecting shops and consumers, linking the cultural world of consumption to the economic realm of retailing. Originality/value – The key argument is that, if studies of shopping are to be useful in furthering the understanding of retailing and consumption, then the paper must theorise shopping more fully. In particular, the paper emphasises the insights afforded by notions of performance and identity, and by analyses of consumer motivation; arguing that these offer the opportunity to link shopping to wider debates over politeness, gender roles and even modernity. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Historical Research in Marketing Emerald Publishing

A history of shopping: the missing link between retail and consumer revolutions

Jon Stobart
Journal of Historical Research in Marketing , Volume 2 (3): 8 – Aug 10, 2010
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Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2010 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
ISSN
1755-750X
DOI
10.1108/17557501011067860
Publisher site
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Abstract

Purpose – This paper aims to reconsider and reframe the relationship between retail and consumer revolutions, arguing that the two have too often been separated empirically and conceptually. Design/methodology/approach – Reviewing a broad range of literature, the paper discussed the ways in which the historiography of retailing and consumption might be brought together by a greater focus on and theorisation of shopping. Findings – The paper highlights equivocation in the literature about the extent to which retailing was transformed during the eighteenth century in response to consumer changes. Whilst some aspects were dramatically transformed, others remained largely unchanged. It draws on a rather smaller body of work to illustrate the ways in which shopping practices were instrumental in connecting shops and consumers, linking the cultural world of consumption to the economic realm of retailing. Originality/value – The key argument is that, if studies of shopping are to be useful in furthering the understanding of retailing and consumption, then the paper must theorise shopping more fully. In particular, the paper emphasises the insights afforded by notions of performance and identity, and by analyses of consumer motivation; arguing that these offer the opportunity to link shopping to wider debates over politeness, gender roles and even modernity.

Journal

Journal of Historical Research in Marketing – Emerald Publishing

Published: Aug 10, 2010

Keywords: Retailing; Consumerism; Shopping; Consumption; Business history

References

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