Contribution of women to U.S. marketing thought: The consumers’ perspective, 1900–1940

Women made an important but neglected contribution to marketing thought in the early part of this century via their focus on the centrality of the consumer. Home economists, such as Hazel Kyrk, Christine Frederick, and Elizabeth Hoyt, pioneered the study of consumption and the development of consumer behavior theory. In 1923, Kyrk published a seminal work, A Theory of Consumption. Hoyt's The Consumption of Wealth (1928) viewed the study of consumption from a more narrow theoretical focus. Frederick's main contribution to marketing thought was Selling Mrs. Consumer (1929). While such marketers as Nystrom were influenced by the work of these women, the cross-influence did not immediately result in attention to the consumer on the part of most marketing theorists. In fact, attention came only 2-3 decades later. Women engaged in advertising, marketing research, and retailing also contributed to marketing thought in the early part of the century.