Fifty years of growth; Selling the consumer

And a job discretionary spending the American as consumers in the department store in the barber shop and in the supermarket. What people and products and economy of buying buying the material things for a living and leisure. More products more types of products to buy keep the distributive and sales activities busy selling the consumer. A market flooded with products money to buy products more people with more money. The change in emphasis from production to consumption and the cash register rings on since the early 40s. The need for more people to help customers spend their money. The emergence of sales and distribution as a function of separate changes in

retail sales changes in markets changes in facilities and customer convenience all contributing to the age of discretionary spending. This document of major changes in getting the goods from the producer to the consumer was produced and recorded by the University of Southern California under a grant from the Educational Television and Radio Center in cooperation with the National Association of educational broadcasters. The complex confusion over rioting and numbers a productive nation has furnished better wages and greater buying power. Technological advances in production pushed forward the mounting volume of available goods television sets lawn mowers cars plastic kitchenware rubber wastebasket steel scouring pads linen like paper napkins. We are smothered by products people and products people

buying and people selling. You always looking for life. I live on my own and I feel like a basket for you. Just one of the differences between oh it's a great difference between running your own independent and working for a chain like a market basket. It's really something that they got in isolation and they do a wonderful business and they make the public the right way which is a wonderful thing. But there is a great difference between independence from I get credit for what you pointed out what a difference with your own experience. You've gone from one to the other so much. You got to keep busy at all times to meet different kind of people to talk to different people. This was true in your own. Well I mean

the majority of the people here I mean take a small store have a few customers in the U.S. under different faces and you'll find them from different states. At that time and Hope Solo and the variety of products the enormous variety now available to people buying products there are more products different brands. And while they have their own they carry the book which is what I mean as far as they'll be here they have wonderful products with just standard products. Like you say yourself it's bigger the rioting and the people have more to pick from which end of that drug I don't have any of that like clothing in it like they are here illegally. Clothing in a supermarket customer convenience is being satisfied

of the complex variety of products mounds. How to maintain a balance between production and consumption. How to assist the customer in making valid choices in purchasing what he really wants or needs. Means must be devised to ensure economic stability to absorb the mounting volume of produced goods and to preserve the free choice of the consumer. More or less all simplified system most everything is in it. Place a place for everything to start out west and then mount a restocking and ordering from our own warehouses and merchandise if needed and the system of putting it on Michelle. The system of marking it just in the money or through the

registers of the system of gangs. Now you say it but that American rests on system. No slave and I was not aware that the most efficient the most efficient operation on the system as you'll find most of the market ones. They are all really on their shoulders. Have the best book on the shelves are stocked. Well the stores claim those is almost like. You know everything. You. Were. Going to. Move. And expanding economy of production contributing to the rising volume of goods and the need to move the goods. The wider distribution of income throughout the years of this century moves the nation toward an economy of consumption a middle income class.

Demand more products of different types and better quality. Middle income buyers normally a small part now a majority of the consumer public. I think that their increase in income has made the people who want the things that industry has been able to get them into creating a new and labor saving. An interesting devices that make their life much more pleasant and make life much easier living. And I think in particular the development of synthetic rubbers all synthetic fibers nylon and the precious fibers. Oh what are some of those specific products that people. Prefer or buy that are made out of this.

Well calling of course that doesn't rankle easily plate sort of building to skirts the socks that Strachan one doesn't have to worry about so I think all the millions of different types of plastics that are out such as drain boards and floor coverings of plastic where it can be used in the kitchen is easy to clean. The ability to produce and the ability to consume changes in consumer goods numbers variety and quality. Well of course they are far superior and they provide the. Consumer with materials that wasn't even dreamed up. 20 years ago in the service they will give the things they will do that couldn't be done before and the ease of taking care of them. For example your synthetic fibers are very easily clean requiring no ironing

practically indestructible. For example your precious fibers you can get a material that looks like a fur that is not for it sells for about half the price of good furs and yet you're not costing them money they have that. First do they have opened up a market that's twice as large. For example years and that expansions that are now being made into my office dish rags and key towels don't Sylia easily they're highly absorbent. Don't take up much space. Last for a long period of time that they were every wastebaskets and she had synthetic rubber wastebaskets that she uses now instead of you know conventional metal kind it was always being up that they would work. The post-war trend of decentralization creating a greater demand for

outdoor living product power lawn mower seeds fertilizer plants rakes scrapers gardening and outdoor living contribute to the desire for more product or product products with gadgets and gimmicks. Growth growth of the buying public. People buying more goods and being influenced to by years and years ago they didn't have credit like they do today you couldn't go just don't put down $5 a day at the Lyceum with your money and. Consequently people really didn't have as much as they do today and and their living standards too I think have gone up. I think people really buy more at one time now than I used to be used to save and have to pay cash for what they bought

and furniture cars. And the increase in leisure time has contributed to the demand for products and services. More people with more time to travel watch television listen to radio read and play games. Well since the beginning of the century more people live it more time ever before. As a matter of fact the working week has been reduced from about 70 hours per week to about 40 which means that workers have more time and their families have more time. As a matter of fact nearly every group has a little more time than was to have a century ago. And what has that done to

the uses of leisure. Well we have you we're using me in a different way than we used to use least half century people did a lot of this and leisure was in the community. Now we use the radio and television and the automobile and we go to movies. In other words leisure has been mechanized to machines have produced more leisure but machines also supply the means the uses of leisure the uses of leisure fulfilling his role as a consumer a mid century American spends much of his unpaid time using products and services. A counter reaction to the growing imbalance between production and consumption. But the counteraction is not yet great enough. Production continues

and consumption does not keep up. Changes major changes in the activities of distribution and retail sales that contribute to the age of discretionary spending. Better products and customer convenience through the improvement of sales facilities refrigeration self-service the elevators the escalators air conditioning lighting lighting by which you can see what you buy. How different from the dry goods store of the 1890s. And the personal relationship between the customer and the sales girl. Well we have directories that landed on the walls and certain departments have. The name of the park this is on the wall seems fine and if that isn't available then there's always a floor supervisor's department and he's on the

fourth. We were approached by customers and asked where certain things are there you know point it out or else the customer shown to the department and yet the customer sometimes does not know exactly what he wants. Surely a customer should be assisted in selecting the product that best fulfills his need of a customer comes in and asks for an item of selling the item and point out the features that. Our sales people are well-trained in the good features of an item you found out you talk in this van I she's well trained in that respect. Do you think there are any additional aids that would help your facilities and helping people locate things or finding out. Yes I think if we had Department markers the testes and the center post it would help considerably. The small grocery store affected like the supermarket by a major change in distribution. Since the early years of the century the number of channels of distribution has spiraled one small grocery

store must deal with a variety of wholesale houses and trucking firms. Well we have fresh vegetables first thing in the morning. From. Red Rock. Cookies. Beer and beverages groceries. And that's about all this litter all that or all the different companies yes. So under this heading here there might be. Four or five different suppliers under each heading here. But it could you name some of the bread. What is bread like in Dora. Oh. Friend lost cooking. Do. You know no challenge Will. Smell. The roses way out of this but. Smart.

I don't. Know if you know the scope of distribution activities and ever widening circle before the late years of the last century. Most producers distributed their own goods as industry grew and expanded so the need for distribution grew and expanded until mid century when the field encompasses warehousing transportation marketing advertising accounting and financing and with this expansion the growing importance of marketing personnel as policy makers in distributive activities making 23 greater consumer services in an era of retail trade a need for market research to determine the needs and desires of the consumer. But decentralization has made effective market research difficult in some respects.

Well changing changing materials and changing time change from both a political and economic standpoint changes people's desires. And the economic status of our people makes it makes it possible for them to do a better job of satisfying their wants than they have ever been able to do before and the amount of spendable income that is available has created the market for the problem of course is to find out what they want. You know what point I didn't want to buy for quite a few years we have used what we call unit control system which tabulates they the items that we have on hand by size by color or by by price and by tight. And in watching that we will point to a trend that was done manually which is quite expensive and is the labor cost of labor has gone up. That has forced us to find some other

mains and providing ourselves with that information. Ok difficult to get that department store but it's why we cater to so many people in so many grades. That income. So the trend now is and it's quite new in the retailing business and that is by electronic tabulator where stock controls are maintained by a system of cards punch cards which I run through periodically and point to the trend items that we are selling by size by type by price by card and if we had by studying what is actually happening we then can go and are going successfully to the next step which is projecting on the basis of what we have been doing what we can normally expect to do with it and here given period providing that period is too long.

We can project our sales for six months the complexity of market analysis but the electronic computer has been engaged to assist in solutions to the problem. With all this assistance retail sales has yet to find an adequate answer to the consumer producer communication problem the distributor must be able to tell the producer what his customers want in a product for any time. The distributor can tell the manufacturer what the wants are of the public. The more and the more money they can spend in developing new products along that same line. Therefore it's to our advantage as a retailer to know as far in advance as we possibly can what type of product to buy price by size by color are selling the best. And as we place our orders in the market the manufacturer knowing the same thing is therefore encouraged and more willing to gamble

on new products and go to the expense of promoting them. That he might not otherwise be willing to do and exact type of commotion that has created this pattern of living in this country that has made it what it is it's a creation of demand and the ability to satisfy those. People and products the ability of more people to buy more product capital and demand necessary to produce the products. The time to use the products the convenient facilities for selection of the products changes in the sales and distribution of consumer goods. But we are smothered with the material benefits of high production a form of consumer apathy becomes evident a reaction to the broadside of products which are not so much different from each other as exactly alike except that one has a red label and the other a blue.

I mean what we have today. I mean what's. Fucked up. It is really that different. But that hardly comes into question anymore. Procter and vice versa. The two little wheels and you can act. Entirely or you can have a toaster thanks. That is the brain because your bread. Fresh bread. And then still.

A little switch. According to you why do some people are just better than the sun. Every other methods I used to sell the consumer. Advertising is a birthday party for the consumer at which salesmen try to convince him that it is better to receive than to give his fantastic scrubbing the floor in an evening gown. But it's true. The new purpose tile cleaner. You just rub it on then rub it off and it's easy to clean. Just dip it in warm water. For further information call this number right. The shortages of the World War. More and more advertising merchandising and sales promotion less personal selling of the merits of a product a dependence upon the mass media.

Selling the consumer on a mass basis. The new trend in retail sales and other methods of increasing sales are used to even the balance between the mounting volume of available goods and the need to ensure their consumption. Sales meeting. The mid-century American Conference and the two hour lunch increased training and instructing of salesman a sales force must know new products understand sales policies. Be aware of changes in style components and color. Market research and motivation research the psychology of buying the American character does not buy for survival at this point in the 20th century. He buys to indulge his fancy. The rise of market research a needed reaction to discretionary spending. Sales estimates must be made. New products must be analyzed and markets must

be studied. All these point toward training and education more research to sell the consumer. What do people buy and why do they buy. The electronic machine the automatic machine. Coming to the rescue of retail sales. The use of the automatic machine in market research and in sales data predicting needs of a store tabulating the day's sales. The machine answering questions inventory decisions on product design gathering and analyzing data. Part of the new American heritage. Research in all areas of distributive activities must be continue. To

increase efficiency. And consumers. The problem of training people for consumer ship to keep the balance between production and consumption. The consumer must be taught must be taught effectively sincerely and truthfully the nature of products on the market. Products for the home for work for personal use for leisure time activities. The unresolved question why do people buy what they buy. Depends on where you shop. I mean any different stores in different markets they have different advertising brands that you buy. It just depends upon what I have in mind to buy. Like I think what I need. Oh maybe maybe me. I do but not so much in canned goods and staples.

I buy the same thing every week. Me I get two cans of beans and when I use it during the wait I think once you buy hardware you have it. No new materials come out. You find that they're easier to launder and iron and you perhaps you'll discard something old wooden in favor of some new material or or new fashions as they come out. I'm interested in a new not an ironing material they got for yourself or are they for the children that they have copies now that you even don't have time for. How did you find out about these things you read about them or hear from others. Well from other people and then I bought. Things I thought. That. The little. Tags. You buy them. They say they don't having the

advertising has more to do with that. Anything else perhaps. Oh radio television you see and hear these things advertising you think Well that sounds like a wonderful day and I'll just try it. And perhaps you try to and it doesn't work out too well then you discard that and try something else. People buying products or people selling products changes in markets. Retail sales facilities customer convenience finding out what the customer wants and needs of spending the American as consumers in the department store in the barber shop and in the supermarket. People and products and economy of buying buying the material things for a living and leisure more products more types of products to buy keep the distributive and sales activities busy

selling the consumer. Institutions cooperating in the production of this program more often. Department store market basket supermarket options market and the faculty of the University of Southern California. This program was written by Donald price directed and narrated by Edward de Roux and produced by Stuart Cooney selling the consumer was recorded by the University of Southern California under a grant from the Educational Television and Radio Center. This program is distributed by the National Association of educational broadcasters. There's be an AB Radio Network.