The Baby Boom

• After the war ended there was Baby boom.The

baby boom made the 1950’s and 1960’s an era
of youth, and many of these young people had
pocket money and allowances to spend. They
added to the new ‘consumer age’
•
 Consumerism
1. The Consumer Boom
• At the end of World War II, In the 1950s the
overall economy grew by 37%.
• By the end of the decade the median American
Family had 30% more spending power than at the
beginning.
• In the 1950’s, the Consumer was considered as
Patriotic Citizen.
• People had more money to spend, and more
items to buy. Americans consumed ⅓ of the
worlds goods and services
2. Television
• Advertising changed to a new revolutionary media.
• The first major television commercials was aired.
• TV and Radio expenses rise up to 2 billion dollars every year
in 1957.
• TV commercials were effective to inform the public of the
new “must have” tools. Companies would focus on a simple
themes, with slogans that were repeated over and over
again.
• Eating habits changed when families bought TV tables so
that they could eat their meals in front of the set.Family life
underwent great changes because of television
• Families that used to play games or visit relatives suddenly
found themselves watching television shows at home
3. Industry
• Industry responded to the huge consumer
demand. In 1952, America was supplying the
world with 65% of its manufactured goods.
• New Industries were created out of the huge
boom of consumer spending, including The
Television Industry, The Plastic Industry, and
Mass Housing.
• The Automobile Industry went from making
planes and tanks, and returned its attention to
residential cars.
4. New Way of Spending
• People started to use credit to buy a lot of things.
• The first credit card was “The Diner’s Club Card”,
and was used only at certain restaurants.
• As the decade went on people started borrowing a
lot and bringing the term, “Buy now and pay later”
to the country.
• Borrowing brought private debt up $150 billion
from what it was at the beginning of the decade
• https://www.nhvweb.net/nhhs/socialstudies/t
kieffer/files/2013/09/American-Consumerism-
in-the-1950s.pdf