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20 Tales in the History of the American Superstore

Larry Holzwarth August 28, 2019 34 min

20. The department store is attempting a comeback

Ladies summer fashions from Macy’s in 1911. Whether the department store survives another century is questionable at best. Wikimedia

In the 21^st century department stores are eyeing a comeback, and chief among their goals as they attempt to navigate the waters of Shakespeare’s “undiscovered country” is a return to customer service. One thing the customer of today and of the foreseeable future wants is the ability to inspect merchandise prior to purchasing it online and some department stores – Macy’s among them – are experimenting with showrooms, where products can be inspected and compared with others prior to ordering. The concept is beneficial to the store as it requires smaller inventories on hand. Exhibitions, essentially fashion shows, which present current and future styles of clothing and other products are an important part of the business model. Of course, internet cafes are envisioned as taking the place of the once-dominant tearooms.

As of 2016, stores classified as department stores, which include some discount retailers such as Target, held about 24% of the retail market for apparel. According to Morgan Stanley, that share will be reduced to around 8% by 2022. Clearly, changes are essential if the concept of the department store is to survive another decade. Competition with online shopping is unlikely to accomplish that goal, and brick-and-mortar stores will never again compete successfully with the ease of shopping from home. Department stores must find a way in which to again position themselves as a desirable destination on their own merit, rather than as just a means of acquiring merchandise. Whether or not they succeed remains to be seen, but it is safe to say they will never again achieve the heyday they enjoyed during the first half of the 20^th century, when meeting at the entrance to the local department store was part of the American urban tradition.

Where do we find this stuff? Here are our sources:

“Arnold Constable Closing on Fifth Avenue”. Isadore Barmash, The New York Times. February 11, 1975

“Abraham & Strauss: It’s Worth A Trip From Anywhere”. Michael J. Lisicky. 2017

“What a Hundred-Year-Old Department Store Can Tell Us About the Overlap of Retail, Religion, and Politics”. Tobias Carroll, Smithsonian.com. February 5, 2019

“Where Was the First Department Store Santa Claus?” Jamie Kageleiry, New England Living Today. December 21, 2018

“The First Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade”. History Channel. Online

“The Luxury of Lunch at the Department Store”. Anne Bramley, Kitchn.com. Online

“For shoppers, a treat is in store”. Chicago Tribune, November 24, 2011

“Only the Store is Gone”. David K. Randall, The New York Times. February 19, 2006

“History of Credit Cards”. Jay MacDonald & Taylor Tompkins, credit cards +.com. Online

“History of Christmas Catalogs”. Jeff Westover, My Merry Christmas. September 6, 2016. Online

“For Generations of Chicagoans, Marshall Field’s Meant Business and Christmas”. Leslie Goddard, Smithsonian.com. December 19, 2016