The emergence of the mass market for consumer durables in interwar Britain

The study finds that, contrary to the arguments of some earlier scholars, British producers were often highly innovative in marketing and found various methods to both communicate the virtues of their products, and the `easy terms' on which they could be purchased, to a new, mass, market. The project also reveals the importance of retailer-led marketing initiatives in some sectors (such as furniture); the impact of marketing techniques imported from the United States; and the persistence of high production costs in some cases, despite a major expansion in annual sales.