Macy’s In The1960s

For over one hundred and fifty years, R. H. Macy&Co. has provided generationsof shoppers with a wide array of merchandises and products offered at great prices.While other retailers have come and gone, Macy’s had not only survived, but hadbecome a true part of American consumer culture. It means that shopping practices inMacy’s like a social arrangement in which the buying of goods and services is notonly a predominant activity of everyday life of Macy’s fans but also an importantarbiter of social organization, significance, and meaning. In short, Macy’s tried tobuild up such a consumer culture between itself and middle class that can makeshopping in Macy’s turning into a symbol of middle-class status. This thesisemphasized on Macy’s1960s. This period of mass consumption brought veiled along-time overlooked feature—the tendency to establish an intimate contact withmiddle class by providing more considerable services and respecting theirconsumption habits a lot. On the one hand, Macy’s made its New York flagship storeas a city spectator to attracted more middle-class travelers who were more likely to bepotential consumers, by its annual holiday celebrations like the famous Thanks-givingDay parade, Christmas window show, and flower show in March; On the other hand,Macy’s positively opened numerous branch stores in suburbia near big cities, withthe purpose to win the goodwill of new rising middle class through the considerableservices and high-quality merchandises. The analysis of middle-class strategiesMacy’s used in1960s will help us understanding the intimate contact betweenconsumption and shaping of social status in context of consumer culture. Meanwhile,it will also remind us a fact that Macy’s like other big and influential retailers wasactually a shaper as well as a symbol of American middle class through everydayconsumption practices.