Routledge Companion to the History of Retailing

Retail history is a rich, cross-disciplinary field that demonstrates the centrality of retailing to many aspects of human experience, from the provisioning of everyday goods to the shaping of urban environments; from earning a living to the construction of identity. Over the last few decades, interest in the history of retail has increased greatly, spanning centuries, extending to all areas of the globe, and drawing on a range of disciplinary perspectives.

By offering an up-to-date, comprehensive thematic, spatial and chronological coverage of the history of retailing, this Companion goes beyond traditional narratives that are too simplistic and Euro-centric and offers a vibrant survey of this field.

It is divided into four broad sections: 1) Contexts, 2) Spaces and places, 3) People, processes and practices and 4) Geographical variations. Chapters are written in an analytical and synthetic manner, accessible to the general reader as well as challenging for specialists, and with an international perspective.

This volume is an important resource to a wide range of readers, including marketing and management specialists, historians, geographers, economists, sociologists and urban planners.

Jon Stobart is Professor of History at Manchester Metropolitan University. His research ranges across a wide variety of topics relating to retailing and consumption in England during the long eighteenth century.

Vicki Howard is a Lecturer at the University of Essex and author of From Main Street to Mall: The Rise and Fall of the American Department Store, which won the Hagley Prize in Business History.

They are co-editors of the Taylor & Francis journal, History of Retailing and Consumption.