13. Department store catalogs emerged as a defense against mail-order houses
The major department stores noted the success of the mail order giants in the United States, which gained a foothold in the less population-dense American West in the latter half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. The national fondness for perusing catalogs was considered when department stores began issuing catalogs of their own. Although all of the major stores and most of the smaller ones issued catalogs and developed mail-order businesses, the true design of the seasonal department store catalogs was to attract visitors to the stores. Free delivery to a local branch store was offered rather than paid home delivery for mail-order items, meaning the customer would have to at least visit a store, and hopefully part with some more money, when receiving their desired item.
The seasonal catalogs – in particular, the Christmas catalogs – were designed to encourage shoppers to visit the stores with checkbooks or charge cards in hand, in order to obtain the merchandise displayed in increasingly staged scenes. Rather than the somewhat drab advertisements which appeared in newspapers, full-color glossy ads depicted happy families surrounded by merchandise procured at Macy’s, or Wanamaker’s, or Marshall Field’s. Shopping and the advertisements geared toward the activity were increasingly aimed at attracting women, who found themselves empowered by congenial stores which welcomed them, gradually providing women with over 80% of the purchasing decisions made by American families. By the opening of the 20th century, the majority of mail-order purchases were made by men; the majority of in-store purchases by women, a trend which has continued, with women’s roles steadily increasing, ever since.