The great new shopping idea: introducing self-service retailing in the British Isles

Abstract

There is a consensus that self-service shopping began in earnest in the British Isles in the late 1940s, following experimentation undertaken within the co-operative movement during the Second World War. This paper proposes that the novelty of these co-operative installations has been overstated. It reveals that self-service was implemented in the catering, womenswear and grocery sectors in the 1920s and 1930s. These three realms of trading, more than any others, provided opportunities for British retailers and consumers to experience the modus operandi of the self-service system, smoothing the way for its pragmatic acceptance at a time of national hardship. It is argued here that self-service formed part of the allure of American culture that pervaded British retailing between the wars. The co-operative installations of the early-to-mid 1940s are reinterpreted as the resumption of this existing trend, rather than as a new departure, albeit modified by challenging trading conditions. This shift in understanding has repercussions for analyses of the knowledge transfer and reception of self-service in the 1940s. The paper concludes by examining why self-service grocery retailing, having faltered in the 1920s and 1930s, took off around 1948, emphasising the proselytising role of American manufacturers and suppliers.

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