Each week, The Extraordinary Times catches up with friends from the historical and cultural scene. This week, we catch up with Susan Spellman, Associate Professor of History at Miami University. Dr. Spellman teaches at Miami’s Hamilton campus, and holds four degrees in U.S. history: a B.A. from Kent State University, an M.A. from Miami University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University. Her research focuses on American business, capitalism, and technology in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. She is the author of Cornering the Market: Independent Grocers and Innovation in American Small Business (Oxford University Press, 2016), in addition to several articles on US business. She received the 2005 Russel B. Nye Award for Outstanding Article in the Journal of Popular Culture, the 2011 J. Franklin Jameson Fellowship from the American Historical Association and Library of Congress, and has held fellowships from the Harvard Business School and National Museum of American History, among others.
* We often imagine the old-fashioned corner store with nostalgia, but how were the small business owners described in Cornering the Market the innovators of their day? While the “corner store” often was a site of community sociability, it always was a place where new ideas, methods, and innovations about the grocery trade percolated. From the Civil War to the New Deal, the grocery industry underwent radical changes in the production, transportation, and selling of goods. The independent grocer was a barometer for these commercial and economic developments. Inside his shop, one could identify the latest trends in retail technology, food packaging, advertising, and distribution, as well as organizational methods. He was among the first to adopt the cash register in the 1880s and adapt it to existing business methods while pioneering new ways of interacting and engaging consumers through technology. His shelves overflowed at first with local products bought in bulk before making way for nationally branded goods sold in cans, boxes, and wrappers. The independent grocer’s ability to both move with the times and forge the path ahead helped him maintain the lion’s share of the marketplace for decades, even as fears about his possible eclipse by chain stores in the 1930s dominated national and local conversations. * As a business historian, what parallels do you find between the 1918-1919 flu and our current pandemic in the US? The lack of comprehensive economic and business data from 1918-1919 make comparisons to today's environment difficult. Historians of business cycles have identified a "cyclical downturn" during that period consistent with localized quarantine orders, but surprisingly saw a low number of business failures in the same time frame largely because wartime restrictions had begun to ease, prompting an increase in consumer demand. One researcher in 2006 attempted to make sense of the economic impact of the World War I era pandemic by looking at local newspapers to get a feel for how the influenza scare had affected local businesses. Looking at Little Rock, Arkansas, a city under quarantine orders in 1918, he found the following: • Merchants indicated a 40% decline in business, with others estimating a 70% downturn • Retail groceries reported a 33% decline in business • One department store saw a nearly 50% loss in daily trade • Bed rest was emphasized in the treatment of influenza, resulting in increased demand for beds and mattresses • Little Rock drug stores were among the only businesses reporting increased business Perhaps the only positive (if morbid) economic outcome from the 1918-1919 pandemic was a rise in wages within some industries in areas where high mortality rates reduced the workforce, creating a demand for able-bodied workers. Moreover, most indicators show that the nationwide economic effects of the pandemic were short term; by the early 1920s, the economy (driven largely by retail production and consumption) and stock markets were booming, contributing to the "Roaring '20s." Of course, at the end of that decade came the Great Depression, so let's hope history does not repeat on that front! * Will online shopping mean the death of the retail industry as we know it? The retail industry will not (and cannot die), mostly because I don't see a future where Americans will be willing to make their own goods and grow all of their own foods! Moreover, the retail industry employs more Americans than other industries. Approximately 25% of all jobs are in retail, employing some 40 million (pre-pandemic). Segments of the retail industry undoubtedly will continue to contract with the increased growth, convenience, and cost-effectiveness of online shopping. Department, drug, and specialty goods stores already face enormous competition from online outlets, with the imminent death of department stores as we know them predicted by some. The retail grocery industry, however, likely will continue to remain robust largely because of the fresh and frozen nature of foods. Delivery of groceries, a common practice and service in the 19th century, has made a comeback in recent years and currently is experiencing a significant surge with pandemic-related fears about going to the store. One long-term change that could come about as a result of the pandemic is the centralization of retail groceries into local warehouses, where customers could shop online with pick up or delivery to your door as the only options (not unlike the controversial model Amazon implemented with its acquisition of Whole Foods). This could reduce, but not entirely eliminate, the number of brick and mortar grocery stores. * Any final thoughts for our readers? There is value in being a historian during difficult (and good) times because it provides important context and perspective on the world. The 1918-1919 pandemic, while extraordinarily deadly, was short lived and (until recently) had become little more than a blip on the historical radar. Indeed, in more than twenty years of teaching US history, I never included it in my survey courses because it generally warranted only a paragraph or two in most textbooks (I will be adding it to my course this fall). While it remains difficult to grasp the enormity and impact of pandemics then and now, history has shown that in historical terms they do tend to pass quickly. While that does not ease suffering and loss in the present, for me it suggests that we might be able to move through these difficult times in short order, hopefully having learned something that will enable us to respond more effectively to such threats in the future. In the meantime, stay safe!
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AuthorMatthew Smith, PhD (History). Public Programs at Miami University Regionals. Historian of Appalachia, the Ohio Valley, & the early American republic. Archives
February 2024
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