History

This book provides a timely examination of the role that consumer credit has played in maintaining inequality, at a time when the gap between the rich and the rest is increasing in the political west. It does so through the prism of the Australian department store, using archival material from across the twentieth century to trace how large retailers used class and status hierarchies, technological innovation, and loyalty programs to embroil the Australian masses in credit culture. Increasing numbers of Australians enthusiastically embraced retail credit, but their experiences of the ‘democratisation’ of credit varied greatly. Hierarchies of credit are as strong in Australia today as they have ever been and, despite the growing use of debit cards and BNPL, most of us still carry a credit card and the threat of indebtedness that entails.