ABSTRACT
In 1905, journalist T. W. H. Crosland was amazed at the ubiquity of shopping. In a "consumer society", most people have the desire and the ability to shop, choosing among various non-essential goods and services, and re-categorizing previously discretionary items as essential. Approaching a society as a "consumer society" involves exploring the centrality of shopping and material possessions to people's identity. In contrast, Victorian shoppers were far more likely to own a higher number of less expensive goods, which they wore for only a season or two before discarding them; lower quality and quickly changing fashions (along with higher real wages) came together to create a culture of constant shopping. Shops that permitted obligation-free browsing were rare (and all in London), and only for the wealthy. Over the course of the Victorian era, new developments in manufacturing, transportation, and marketing started to make new shopping options and experiences possible.
