New database from AM unveils 140 years of consumer culture and department store history
Spanning more than 140 years, The Transformation of Shopping: Department Stores, Consumerism and Social Change, 1830-1994 explores the social and cultural history of shopping, the retail industry, and working life, through the lens of the department store.
Encompassing multiple topics, the resource examines the de-skilling of shop work, unionism, and the feminisation of retail over the twentieth century, as well as the effects of the civil rights movement on the retail industry.
Meticulously researched and comprising a treasure trove of diverse archival material from across the globe, The Transformation of Shopping vividly depicts how stores, labour practices, and shopping customs changed in response to societal shifts, technological marvels, and the ever-changing desires of consumers over the span of a century and a half. This invaluable resource stands as a cornerstone for scholars, offering profound insights into the intricate interplay of business dynamics, race and gender studies, social history, fashion trends, and marketing strategies.
The material is sourced from 14 archives around the world and includes department store archives, trade journals and union records exploring how smaller independent shops shaped everyday life in the communities they served as well as changing consumer expectations and the emergence of department stores.
A particular highlight of the resource is the unique collection of posters produced by artist Ants Tolli for Tallinna Kaubamaja, a flagship department store in Estonia. The majority of posters date from the 1980s, and so provide a rare and sought-after insight into Soviet consumer culture, offering a counterpoint to materials from capitalist nations in the rest of the collection.
The primary appeal of our resource is its coverage of harder-to-access archival materials. The collection is highly visual, designed to appeal to undergraduates as well as advanced researchers in social, business and cultural history. It includes material from well-known department store brands such as Wanamaker’s, Lord & Taylor, and Selfridges, but also examples of lesser-known stores allowing users to examine and compare regional stances on race, gender, and class.
The resource covers the establishment of department stores in the early nineteenth century, many of which began as mail order companies, wholesale merchants, or small high street shops while also tracing their development from fixtures on the high street, to suburban complexes established after World War II, to central features of shopping malls developed from the 1970s onwards.
This comprehensive collection complements and builds upon AM’s consumer culture portfolio of resources which includes J Walter Thompson: Advertising America, Market Research and American Business, 1935-1965 and Trade Catalogues and the American Home.
Recent posts
In this article originally published in Against the Grain, AM's Laura Blomvall explores the University of Hawaiʻi students’ UK research trip, focusing on Hawaiian history and culture. It highlights how digitised archives support accessibility, inclusive metadata, and decolonisation efforts, fostering rich discussions about collaboration, language, and representation in historical records.
Learn the ways in which digital primary sources are transforming higher education by enhancing academic engagement, maintaining learning continuity, and promoting student success. This article explores the impact of the global pandemic, highlights survey findings on educational challenges, and reveals how universities are integrating digital resources into their teaching frameworks.