The Wireless in the Window: Department Stores and Radio Retailing in the 1920s

Abstract

In the early 1920s, audiences for the first radio stations were primarily male hobbyists who had assembled their own receivers. By the end of the decade, radio had become widespread and factory-built receivers were the norm. Drawing from social construction theories of technology, this study explores the specific retail techniques used by department stores to promote this technology during broadcasting's initial boom. With classes, set-building contests, and window displays, the stores educated potential listeners and spurred the diffusion of this new innovation. Radio sales peaked during the Christmas season, and department stores based many promotions on recognized holiday traditions. As the decade progressed, the stores sought to overcome the summer recession in radio sales and to establish broadcasting as a year-round activity. These findings shed light on the process by which new media technologies are incorporated into the mainstream of society.