Description: The volume focuses on processes of transformation in the retail business in several European countries mainly during the second half of the 20th Century. After World War II, structures, practices and the culture of retailing in most West European countries went through a period of rapid change. The post-war economic boom, the emergence of a mass consumer society, and the adaptation of innovations which already had been implemented in the USA during the interwar period, revolutionized the world of getting and spending.
Review Quotes: A Yankee Book Peddler UK Core Title for 2012 'Ralph Jessen and Lydia Langer have drawn together a collection of essays in this volume ... which collectively add to our knowledge of how self-service spread. ... This volume of essays will appeal to retail history specialists, in particular those with interests in postwar European (and particularly, but not only, German) developments.' Business History Review '... una raccolta ricca di suggeÂ-stioni e stimoli, che è augurabile di veder ampiaÂ-mente discussa a livello internazionale.' ['... a collection rich with suggestions and stimulating ideas, one which will hopefully be broadly discussed at international level.'] Ricerche di Storia Politica