Attention, shoppers! : American retail capitalism and the origins of the Amazon economy / Kathleen Thelen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Thelen, Kathleen Ann, author.

Series:

Princeton studies in American politics

Princeton studies in American politics : historical, international, and comparative perspectives

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Retail trade--United States--History.

Retail trade.

Trade regulation--United States--History.

Trade regulation.

Consumers--United States--History.

Consumers.

Physical Description:

xiii, 325 pages ; illustrations, map ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Princeton : Princeton University Press, [2025]

Summary:

"The United States is widely recognized as the quintessential consumer society, one where huge companies like Walmart and Amazon are famous for enticing customers with cheap goods and speedy delivery. Attention, Shoppers! traces the origins and evolution of American retail capitalism from the late nineteenth century to today, uncovering the roots of a bitter equilibrium where large low-cost retailers dominate and vast numbers of low-income families now rely on them to make ends meet. Offering a comparative perspective on the history of American political economy, Kathleen Thelen shows how large-scale retailers in the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, and Sweden faced a far less hospitable regulatory environment than companies in the United States, which enjoyed judicial forbearance and often active government support. As American companies grew in scale and scope, they assembled an ever-expanding political coalition that could be weaponized to head off regulatory efforts, leveraging their market strength to squeeze suppliers and workers and even engaging in outright rule breaking when they encountered resistance. Placing the rise of the Amazon economy in a broader comparative-historical context, Attention, Shoppers! reveals how large discount retailers have successfully exploited a uniquely permissive regulatory landscape to create a shopper's paradise built on cheap labor and mass consumption"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Part I. Introduction. American retail capitalism and the origins of the Amazon economy

Part II. American retailers in the making of a consumerist political economy. Clearing the field: The fate of consumer cooperatives ; Mail order retail as the "farmer's friend" ; Social peace and Democratic participation through consumption

Part III. Contestation and opposition to emergent retail capitalism. Low-cost retailing and the battles over the "right to cut prices" ; Backlash: Confronting the "chain store menace"

Part IV. Retail capitalism resurgent. Postwar paradox: Low-cost retailing in the "golden era" of American antitrust ; Discount nation ; Comparative perspectives on contemporary American lean retailing

Part V. The amazon economy. The Amazon economy ; Conclusion: The high cost of low prices.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 287-316) and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Thelen, Kathleen Ann. Attention, shoppers!

ISBN:

9780691266510

0691266514

9780691266527

0691266522

OCLC:

1436905116