Mail order in the United Kingdom c. 1880-1960: how mail order competed with other forms of retailing

Coopey, Richard; O’Connell, Sean; Porter, Dilwyn

doi:10.1080/095939699342552

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 2 publications

(2 reference statements)

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“…This is surprising, given the historical and current popularity of shopping from home. Coopey et al (1999) point out that during the 1950s and 1960s, mail order represented Britain's fastest growing retail sector (p.261). Mail order during the 1960s became phenomenally successful with one household in two looking at a mail order catalogue each year, and one in four making a purchase (p.262).…”

Section: [Denise Is Wearing a New Leather Jacket]mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast, the credit system offered by catalogues and the system of collections of repayments by local ‘agents’ offered a friendly and acceptable way of getting credit. As Coopey et al. (1999) point out,The local agency system dovetailed neatly with credit provision; ‘Joan from down the street’ and ‘Aunty Kathleen’ were extremely effective credit policewomen, ensuring that bad debt were minimized.…”

Section: Managing and Consuming On A Budgetmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is surprising, given the historical and current popularity of shopping from home. Coopey et al. (1999) point out that during the 1950s and 1960s, mail order represented Britain’s fastest growing retail sector (p. 261).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast, the credit system offered by catalogues, and the system of collections of repayments by local 'agents' offered a friendly and acceptable way of getting credit. As Coopey et al (1999) point out:…”

Section: Managing and Consuming On A Budgetmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Catalogue communities: Work and consumption in the UK catalogue industry

Casey

2014

Journal of Consumer Culture

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This paper offers a sociological understanding of the role of catalogue shopping in women's everyday lives. The paper draws on qualitative data generated from interviews with women working at the returns department of the Kays catalogue warehouse in Worcester. During the time of writing, Shop Direct, owners of Kays closed down the historic warehouse in Worcester, effectively bringing over 200 years of Worcester's association with Kays and the catalogue industry to an end, and leading to 500 job losses, including those of the women taking part in the research. Once the largest private employer in Worcester, Kays occupies an important role in local cultural and social identities, and in this paper, I will argue that a sociological account of catalogue shopping is apt and timely given such significant social changes, the recent economic downturn, and social problems that have long been associated with this form of consumption.In addition, the paper will show that to date, much research into catalogue shopping has tended to rest on economic historical accounts of the 'mail order' industry. In contrast, this paper argues that catalogue shopping occupies not only a significant place in the popular cultural imagination surrounding the shopping habits of the working classes (and especially working class women), but has also played a crucial role in women's management of the home, caring for the family, and safeguarding an often limited financial budget. The paper will consider the important role that catalogues have played in offering credit to working class women who may have previously struggled to get this. Finally, it adds to recent attempts to put women's domestic consumption patterns firmly on the academic agenda.

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Section: [Denise Is Wearing a New Leather Jacket]mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Managing and Consuming On A Budgetmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Managing and Consuming On A Budgetmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Catalogue communities: Work and consumption in the UK catalogue industry

Casey

2014

Journal of Consumer Culture

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“…British mail order retailing was also heavily reliant on urban markets. Coopey et al (1999) note that while in the United States:…”

Section: Retail Change and The Consumermentioning

confidence: 99%

Retailing and consumption: evidence from war time Britain

Alexander¹

2002

The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer R

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Insuf cient attention has been given to the place of the consumer in debates surrounding the history of retail development and retail change. This paper uses empirical data from the archive of Mass-Observation to explore directly consumers' reactions to the issue of retail development and change in early 1940s Britain. MassObservation data is shown to provide clear evidence of consumers' differing perceptions of the retail industry, their preferences for particular retail types and their reactions to retail change. It also con rms the need to remain alert to the importance of social relations in understanding consumers' reactions to the retail change process. The paper ends by arguing the case for further historical studies of the retailing and consumption interface.

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Localities of Fashion Modernity in the 1930s: Practices of Retailing on the High Street

Roberts

2022

Consuming Mass Fashion in 1930s England

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Mail order in the United Kingdom c. 1880-1960: how mail order competed with other forms of retailing

Cited by 8 publications

References 2 publications

Catalogue communities: Work and consumption in the UK catalogue industry

Catalogue communities: Work and consumption in the UK catalogue industry

Retailing and consumption: evidence from war time Britain

Localities of Fashion Modernity in the 1930s: Practices of Retailing on the High Street

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