Scrip, stores, and cash‐strapped cities: American retailers and alternative currency during the Great Depression

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine retailer response to the use of alternative currency, or scrip, as an emergency measure during the Great Depression. Advocates of scrip argue that it would help recovery efforts, encouraging consumer spending and keeping dollars “at home” within the local community. Merchants face a dilemma, as they hope to use any means to increase sales, but are worried that they would be left holding a stack of worthless paper that they would not be able to pass on to their suppliers. Two cases of scrip in action in Chicago and Atlanta are contrasted.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper draws upon primary data sources including period newspapers from across the USA, business periodicals, archival materials from retailers and city councils, and government reports.

Findings

There is no uniform response to the use of scrip by merchants. Some retailers hope to use scrip to boost sales and encourage consumer loyalty, and even organized their own campaigns to use alternative currency. In other cases, retailers felt the risks of accepting scrip were too high. Without the participation of retailers, scrip schemes were doomed to failure.

Originality/value

In the early years of the Depression, alternative currency enjoyed a remarkable popularity across the USA. It is now known that scrip would not end the crisis, as boosters hoped, yet this episode reveals much about popular understandings of the economy, and the role of retailers in local communities.

Citation

Elvins, S. (2010), "Scrip, stores, and cash‐strapped cities: American retailers and alternative currency during the Great Depression", Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, Vol. 2 No. 1, pp. 86-107. https://doi.org/10.1108/17557501011016271