A History of the Ministry of Information, 1939-46
III. DEMAND: SUCCESS AND FAILURE TO BUY
In this report the word “demand” is used with the meaning of active demand only, that is to any demand that resulted in at least one attempt to buy. No inquiry has been made into needs, and the proportion of housewives who tried to buy an article in a given period is not necessarily the same as the proportion having a need for that article. On the one hand if a commodity has been in short supply for a long time, and the shortage is well known, commodities may be snapped up as soon as they reach the shops by housewives who may have no immediate need for them, but are anticipating a future need. Further, housewives may not make attempts to buy things they need, because they know they cannot afford them, whether there is a shortage or not.
Before giving any results it is worthwhile to consider the subject of shortages in general and the ways in which shortage is likely to affect the demand for a commodity.
When a commodity first becomes in short supply it is likely that the percentage of housewives trying to buy it will for a time increase, since the amount of unsatisfied demand piles up and further attempts are made by those who have been unsuccessful.
If the shortage continues, there may be falling off in attempts to buy on the part of those who have already tried unsuccessfully. People are likely to give up hope of getting the articles and accustom themselves to managing with less or without, or they may find substitutes . At this stage the shortage may be said to have become “chronic”, and the majority of housewives know of the shortage and many have already tried to buy the article on several occasions and failed. In this situation, one would still expect to find the demand fairly stable unless suddenly increased supplies were put on the market.
It will be seen from the results given in the section that during the period considered (April 1943 to January 1945), the percentage trying to buy many of the commodities studied, does not either increase or decrease very noticeably, but remains about the same, and it is possible that this result reflects the state of affairs described as “chronic” shortage.
Another possible situation which might develop at a late stage of shortage is that the number giving up hope exceeds the number making continued attempts, and in this situation the percentage trying to buy would fall.
The process of “giving up hope” implies that an adjustment of social customs is made to fit the condition of shortage. Such adjustments might take more or less time to be made according to the commodity and the extent to which it was in short supply
The stages given above are of course purely theoretical, and are probably an over-simplification of the state of affairs. Moreover much will depend on the extent to which a commodity is necessary, or rather on the amount of inconvenience caused by its absence. It has already been said that most of the items considered are practical utensils of a non-luxury type, but nevertheless some of them are more necessary than others. It is for instance possible to find a substitute for a cup in a glass or a jam jar, but few items are to be found in most households which could be used as a substitute for sheets.
Another factor which should be considered is the size of stocks of various commodities which housewives are accustomed to having. For instance in some sections of the community it was usual in peace time to have one set of cups for breakfast and another for tea, or to use one set regularly and keep a “best tea services” for use on special occasions. Stocks of cups were therefore at any rate in some families in excess of actual needs. In the case of some other commodities, sheets, towels or scrubbing brushes, for instance, it is likely than even in normal times the majority of housewives stocks would hardly exceed their needs.
The question of stocks was not considered in this survey * . A much more detailed, inquiry would have been necessary to study stocks adequately, and it not therefore possible to make any definite statement about the position with regard to them.
Lastly, changing levels of supplies may be expected to influence the proportions making attempts to buy. News that greater supplies were on the market might result in fresh attempts being made by housewives in need of the commodity who had previously given up hope.
As a study of the effects that shortages have on market demand the present survey is incomplete. The inquiries had to be carried out quickly for an immediate practical purpose and so a thorough study from which general conclusions about shortages could be drawn, was not possible. The factors mentioned above were not studied in detail, but if precise information were available about the ways in which these factors operate no doubt the trends that appear in these results could be better understood and explained.
This section of the report deals with the percentages of housewives who tried to buy and who bought the various commodities at different times during the period studied. In some cases, where there appears to be a trend, straight lines have been fitted and the significance of the apparent trend tested. The purpose of fitting straight lines was merely to see whether the percentages trying for or buying commodities increased or decreased during the period concerned. It would not be safe to assume that the trends observed would continue into the future because of the variability of the factors influencing them. Only if precise information about these factors were available could any predictions be made.
In the results given below the items studied have been put into seven groups: “Hardware” comprising kitchen and cleaning utensils, crockery, household linen, men's clothing, women's clothing, children's clothing, and miscellaneous items.
Not all the items were studied throughout the whole period, but results are given for the part of the period during which they were studied.
HARDWARE
Table 1 shows the percentages of all housewives who (a) tried to buy and succeeded in buying different items of hardware.
b) Diagrams are given on the next pages. It was mentioned previously that during 1943, inquiries were made each month, but that after that they were made once in two months. In the diagrams only the results for every other month in the first year are shown so that the interval between inquiries is made uniform throughout the whole period.
In the tables percentages are given to whole numbers but they were calculated to one decimal place for the purpose of drawing diagrams.
With none of these items does the percentage of housewives trying to buy or succeeding in buying, show a marked increase or decrease over the whole period, which suggests that both the demand and the supply position in these types of hardware remained fairly stable.
Kettles
The nearest approach to a consistent trend is found in the case of the percentage trying to buy tin kettles where there appears to be a slight decrease. A straight line has been fitted and the t-test applied to see whether the regression coefficient differs significantly from zero. The probability that the decrease occurred by chance is somewhat greater than .05 but less than .1.
The percentage of housewives who actually bought tin kettles shows no very marked fluctuations and is nowhere below 4% or above 7%.
The demand for other types of kettle was in general higher than the demand for tin kettles and is highest at about March 1944, when it rises to 17%. After this period there is a drop to 12% about July and a subsequent slight increase. The percentage of housewives who succeeded in buying other types of kettles is however lower than the percentage who bought tin kettles and remains at about 1 or 2% during the whole period.
Expressing the number of housewives who bought as a percentage of those who tried to buy gives an average per month of 63% for tin kettles, and only 11% for other kettles.
Saucepans and Frying Pans
The proportions trying to buy and succeeding in buying saucepans did not vary very much. The percentage trying to buy saucepans is however significantly lower in the first month studied (May 1943) than during the period.
During the latter part of the period, from about spring 1944 onwards, the percentages buying both frying pans and saucepans are on the average slightly higher than those shown by the earlier inquiries. This suggests that supplies may have been maintained at a somewhat higher level during 1944 than previously.
It is clear that the shortage of saucepans was affecting a considerable proportion of households. On an average of housewives made unsuccessful attempts to buy saucepans per month compared with 7% making successful attempts.
Of those who tried to buy frying pans an average of 44% per month succeeded. The corresponding figure for saucepans is 26%
Other Items
Pails, mixing bowls and soft brooms, were scarce for short periods and no very definite conclusions housewives tried to buy these From 7% 12% of trying for pails than for the other two items weeks period. More of those trying for pails than for the other two items were successful. There is a statistically significant rise in the proportion trying for mixing bowls at the end of the period, though no corresponding rise is noticeable in the percentage who bought them.
TABLE 1
Hardware
Percentage of housewives who tried to buy and who bought
Sample: 2500-3000 for each period given.
HARDWARE
Percentage of housewives who tried to buy and who Bought
Scrubbing Brushes
The shortage of scrubbing brushes seems to have been extensively felt. From 22% to 30% of housewives tried to buy scrubbing brushes each month but only about 8% succeeded.
From May 1943 to July 1944, a period of just over a year, there is a fairly steady rise in the proportions making attempts. A straight line has been fitted to this portion of the curve. The regression coefficient is .54 and calculation of the sampling error shows that the increase is undoubtedly significant. After this there is a sharp decline, and the proportion trying remains relatively low for the rest of the period.
The percentage able to buy scrubbing brushes varies very little over the whole period, which suggests that the supply position remained fairly stable.
CROCKERY
Housewives were asked about their attempts to buy cups, mugs and beakers in all the inquiries considered here. Teapots and plates was included up to January 1944, and then teapots were dropped and a distinction was made between large and small plates. (“Small” plates were defined as plates with diameter less than eight inches).
The percentages of housewives who tried to buy and who bought these articles are shown in Table 2 and in the diagrams on the following page.
Cups, Mugs, Beakers
Cups, mugs and beakers were treated as one group, and if the housewife had tried to buy any or all of these, this was counted as an attempt, A housewife who had tried to buy cups but on being unable to find any cups bought beakers would count as “tried and bought”, but a housewife who tried to buy cups and had not bought beakers or mugs instead, althought she may have seen them in a shop, would count as “tried and failed”. Housewives' reasons for not being able to buy are given in a later section of this report. References for particular types of article are of course likely to operate with all the items considered, but in this case, where there are three quite distinct types, this is perhaps more important than with most other times, and is therefore mentioned here. It should also be noted that at this time cups were more often sold with saucers but that mugs and beakers had no saucers.
Over the period as a whole the percentage of housewives trying to buy cups, mugs, or beakers declines. There are however, quite considerable fluctuations.
In the first month shown on the diagram, May 1943, this percentage was particularly low in comparison with the months before and after, being 26% as compared with 31% in April and 35% in June ( see table 2). These difference between May and April and May and June, are statistically significant, the standard error of the difference being in both cases little more than 1%. The difference between subsequent months shown adjacently on the diagram up to May 1944 are also more than twice their standard errors and may be considered significant.
It is clear therefore, that these are not merely such fluctuations as might be expected to result from random sampling if the percentage of the population trying to buy decline steadily month by month. It will be seen that there are corresponding fluctuations in the percentage of housewives who succeeded in buying cups, mugs of beakers, although in this case no overall decline is noticeable.
By the beginning of the period studied, spring 1943, cups had been in short supply for well over a year. In fact this was one of the earliest major shortages of domestic articles to develop during the war. A possible explanation of the fluctuations observed in the percentage trying to buy is offered here, though without knowing more about the other factors influencing the situation
TABLE 2
CROCKERY
Percentages of Housewives who Tried to buy and Who Bought
Sample = 2,500 to 3,000 for each period given.
CROCKERY
Percentages of Housewives who Tried to buy Who Bought.
Explanations must be given tentatively. A certain (evenly declining) proportion of housewives might be expected to make attempts to buy at each of the periods shown. In addition to this it is possible that there were many housewives whose stocks of cups were low and who had ceased positively to make searches for cups although they would buy cups if they saw them in the shops. If the supply position varied from month to month, so that sometimes there were more and sometimes less cups reaching the shops, then more housewives might be expected to “try-to-buy- and buy” (without Particular premeditation) when cups were more plentiful than when cups were scarce. Fluctuations in the supply position might thus account for fluctuations in the proportions trying to buy.
After May 1944, the percentage trying declines rather more steadily. The slight rise shown at the end of the period is not statistically significant.
There is no doubt whatsoever about the general decline in the percent trying to buy over the whole period. The regression coefficient is-.72, and comparison of this with its standard error gives a value for P well below .01.
In the first pages of this section it was suggested that if a shortage had existed for a very long time and was very well known, a decline in the proportion giving up hope would in the end exceed the number making continued or new attempts to buy. Moreover the stage at which housewives would give up hope is likely to depend on the amount of inconvenience involved in failure to buy. It is shown in a later section that the majority of those who tried and were unable to buy cups gave as their reason that only the wrong type of cup was available. A relatively low proportion said there were none at all in the shops. Had the inconvenience been very acute no doubt in many cases, the “wrong” type would have been bought as being better than nothing.
It is possible that this was the situation in regard to the cup shortage, but again this explanation is offered tentatively as information about factors which might effect the percentage is wanting. For the same reason it would not be safe to assume a continuance of the trend into the period after that for which results are given.
The percentage of housewives buying cups, mugs or beakers appears to decline somewhat after about March 1944. The difference of 5% between March (19% bought) and September (14% bought) is certainly significant. The slight rise shown at the end of the period is not significant. Considering the period from April 1943 to January 1945 as a whole, there is neither an upward nor a downward trend in this percentage. This suggests that although the supplies reaching the shops may have varied from month to month, the supply position was in the long run more stable than the demand position.
Since the active demand expressed in attempts to buy declined, the proportion of those trying who succeeded shows an increase.
Table 3
Percentages of those Housewives who Tried to Buy Cups, Mugs or Beakers who Succeeded in Buying them
| % | ||
| 1943 | A | 48 |
| M | 52 | |
| J | 50 | |
| J | 54 | |
| A | 52 | |
| S | 54 | |
| O | 63 | |
| N | 57 | |
| 1944 | J | 62 |
| M | 68 | |
| M | 69 | |
| J | 71 | |
| S | 63 | |
| N | 71 | |
| 1945 | J | 64 |
Sample: those who tried to buy:- 600 to 900 housewives for each period given.
Table 3 considered without reference to table 2 would give the impression that the cup situation was improving. It has been shown however, that the percentage of all housewives buying cups did not increase, and it may perhaps be concluded that as the shortage continued, people lowered their standards and put up with having fewer or less attractive cups.
Other Crockery
From 7 to 9% of housewives tried to buy tea-pots in each four weeks and around 5% succeeded. The results for different months over the short period in which tea-pots were included, do not show any marked differences.
Although the figures for plates show some small but significant fluctuations, there is no general upward or downward trend either in the percent buying or the percentage trying to buy.
From Spring 1943 up to Jan. 1944, 6 to 10% of housewives tried to buy plates. Any sort of Plate was included. After this period about the same proportion (6 to 10%) tried to buy large plates and small plates. This suggests that the housewives trying to buy plates in the earlier period were looking for both large and small plates.
On an average 63% of the housewives who tried to buy plates (unspecified), and 62% of those who tried to buy large plates, were successful. Of those trying to buy small plates however only 38%, on the average, succeeded.
HOUSEHOLD LINEN
The demand for most of the items of household linen studied seems to have increased during 1943 and 1944.
Results are shown in Table 4 and in the following diagrams.
Blankets
The proportion of housewives trying to buy blankets rises from about 3% at the beginning of the period to 10% at the end, A straight line is fitted, the regression coefficient being .64. The trend is statistically significant.
The curves for both blankets and flannelette sheets show a peak at about March 1944. It is possible that this is associated with a spell of unusually cold weather which lasted from February 10th to March 10th of this year.
It appears from the diagram that the percentage of housewives succeeding in buying blankets remained about the same over the period but there is in fact a slight but significant upward trend which would be apparent if the vertical scale were increased. The line has not been drawn as it could not be seen clearly. The regression coefficient is .05 and the deviations arc very small.
It seems tharefore that supplies of blankets increased slightly but that this increase was small in relation to the increase in the demand. The diagram at the bottom of page 21 shows the percentages of housewives making unsuccessful attempts to buy blankets at different times. The slope of the curve is of course the difference between the slopes of the two curves in the first diagram, .59, and the trend is significant. The peak at March 1944 reflects the peak in the percentage trying to buy which was not offset by a correspondingly high proportion able to buy.
Sheets and Pillow Cases
Flannelette sheets or cotton blankets, show the same sort of trend in the percentage trying to buy as woollen blankets. Higher proportions of housewives tried to buy these however, about 6% at the beginning of the period and about 18% at the end. The slope of the line is .79. The peak in March 1944 is very marked.
There is a slight but significant decrease in the percentage succeeding in buying. The regression coefficient is - .08, and again the line has not been drawn as it would not be easy to see it.
TABLE 4
HOUSEHOLD LINEN
Percentages of Housewives who Tried to buy Who Bought
Sample: 2,500 to 3,000 for each period given
HOUSEHOLD LINEN
Percentages of Housewives who Tried to buy
With cotton or linen sheets there is apparently an upward trend in the proportion trying to buy, but that an increase occurred is not so certain as it is in the case of blankets and flannelette sheets. The probability that the apparent increase might have occurred by chance through sampling error is rather more then.05 though less than.1. The percentage trying to buy is highest during the summer of 1944 and there is a significant decrease at the end of the period.
The proportion of housewives who succeeded in buying cotton or linen sheets remains fairly constant which suggest that the supplies reaching retailers did not vary much. It should be noted however, that the priority docket system was introduced for sheets and blankets on the 1st June 1944. Shopkeepers were asked to hold back a proportion of their supplies for docket holders and it is possible that this resulted in stocks being held in the shops for longer than usual.
At the beginning of the period about 6% and at the end about 13% of housewives tried to buy pillow-slips. There is no doubt about the significance of the increase shown ever the period as a whole, and the fluctuations are less marked than with sheets and blankets.
The proportion obtaining pillow-cases remains very stable.
It is clear from these results that considerable proportions of households have been affected by the shortage of blankets and bed-linen. The proportions wanting sheets both of the flannelette and the cotton or linen type are particularly high. The situation appears to have worsened over the period studied.
In Table 5 the numbers of housewives buying these commodities at different times are expressed as percentages of the numbers trying to buy.
The number trying to buy is different of course for each commodity and at each period, and exact sample figures for each result are not given. The minimum and maximum number on which percentages are based are shown at the bottom of each column as an indication of the statistical reliability of the results.
Table 5
Percentages of those Housewives who Tried to Buy who Succeeded in Buying
| Woollen Blankets | Flannelette Sheets | Cotton or Linen sheets | Pillow cases | ||
| % | % | % | % | ||
| 1943 | A | 28 * | 30 | - | 43 |
| M | 29 * | 29 | - | 45 | |
| J | 20 * | 22 | - | 32 | |
| J | 18 | 20 | - | 38 | |
| A | 14 | 17 | - | 29 | |
| S | 14 | 12 | 8 | 30 | |
| O | 17 | 15 | 11 | 30 | |
| N | 17 | 13 | 10 | 32 | |
| 1944 | J | 14 | 12 | 8 | 32 |
| M | 12 | 9 | 5 | 29 | |
| M | 13 | 9 | 6 | 25 | |
| J | 13 | 6 | 7 | 24 | |
| S | 11 | 8 | 6 | 21 | |
| N | 15 | 9 | 6 | 26 | |
| 1945 | J | 14 | 8 | 11 | 22 |
|
Sample (Those who Tried to buy)
Minimum |
76 | 184 | 315 | 162 | |
| Maximum | 271 | 547 | 567 | 374 | |
All items except cotton or linen sheets show a marked decrease in the proportion of those making attempts who were able to buy. It has already been shown that this decrease is in the main due to a rise in the demand and not to diminishing supplies. During the last two months for which results are given however, the decrease is not maintained, and although individual differences are not significant, it is suggestive that the same tendency is shown in every case and that at the same time there is a significant increase between November 1944 and January 1945 in the proportion able to buy cotton or linen sheets. It is seen also in the diagram on page 20 that in the case of all four commodities the demand in the last two periods falls below the trend line.
It is of interest to compare the effects of the shortage of blankets and bed-linen with those of the shortage of cups. It was suggested previously that housewives might be less able to find substitutes for items such as sheets than for cups. Also it is probable that housewives were less well stocked in these commodities when the shortage started.
The proportion of housewives trying to buy blankets and bed-linen by far exceeds the proportion able to buy, and yet housewives persisted in trying, presumably because of the inconvenience caused by being without. Another factor which should be considered is that the shortage of household linen developed somewhat later in the war than the shortage of pottery.
Other Items
As might be expected the proportion of housewives trying to buy cot blankets is low. Only mothers of young children and expectant mothers are concerned in this shortage.
There is a slight but significant increase in the demand. The regression coefficient is .13. There is also a slight increase in the proportion buying cot blankets. Over the whole period 35% of the housewives who tried, during four weeks' periods, were successful. The situation was thus rather more satisfactory than was the case with ordinary blankets and sheets.
Towels and drying cloths were studied only over a short period and little can be said about them. About 10% of housewives tried to buy towels per month and the majority (about 74%) succeeded. Drying cloths were tried for by about per month and on an average 63% of those trying succeeded.
CLOTHING
Housewives were asked about their own and their families’ attempts to buy various articles of clothing. It should be noted that the proportions given as trying to buy and buying are of families and not of individuals.
The proportions are likely to be influenced by some factors which do not operate in the case of other sorts of commodities. The demand for clothing was to some extent restricted by rationing.
It might be expected that the proportions trying to buy at different times would be influenced by coupon releases. The release of new coupons might result in an immediate rise in demand which would fall off towards the end of the coupon period. In some of the results given below the probable influence of coupon releases can be traced. Many items of clothing show a fall in demand about January 1944 followed by a sharp increase in March when new coupons could be used. The effects of coupon releases at other times during the period studied are less marked. It seems from this that people’s clothing stocks may have been particularly low at the end of 1943 and that coupons ran out earlier during this release period than others. Further information would be necessary to give any adequate explanation of this.
Clothing figures are also likely to be influenced by normal seasonal variations, the peak periods for buying being the spring and autumn.
The dates of coupon releases during and around the period studied were as follows:
Coupon Release
| Number released | Date |
| 20 | 1st March 1943 |
| 20 | 1st September 1943 |
| 24 | 1st February 1943 |
| 24 | 1st August 1944 |
| 24 | 1st February 1945 |
There were thus three coupon releases during the period studied, one just before it started and one just after it ended.
The releases come at the beginning of the spring and autumn, just before the periods when clothes buying is normally high.
In addition to these coupon releases ten supplementary coupons were issued 1943, 15th December, 1943 and 29th November, 1944.
WOMEN'S CLOTHING
Leather shoes, overalls, corsets and brassieres were studied. Brassieres were only included in the last half of the period.
Results are given in Table 6 and the following diagrams.
Outdoor Leather Shoes
Over the whole period there is an increase in the percentage trying to buy leather shoes. This rises from 19% at the beginning of the period to about 25% towards the end of it. The regression coefficient of the line describing the trend is .63, and the upward movement is significant. There is however, no significant increase in the percentage buying shoes.
There is a sharp drop both in the percentage trying to buy, and in the percentage buying shoes about January 1944. This was the end of a coupon period and both percentages show a marked increase by March when the new coupons could be used. After March 1944, the demand continues to rise but there is no corresponding rise in the percentage buying. Consequently the proportion making unsuccessful attempts increases.
There is a significant drop in the percentage trying to buy between November 1944 and January 1945, the end of the coupon period, but this is not so marked as the drop at the end of 1943.
It is clear that the shortage of women’s shoes became more serious during the period considered. Although it might be possible for women to make their shoes last longer, it is hardly possible to find any substitute for shoes or to manage without them. It is therefore unlikely that a continued condition of shortage would result in a decreased demand, as was the case with cups.
In Table 7 the numbers buying shoes are expressed as percentages of the numbers trying to buy at different periods.
Table 6
Women’s Clothing
Percentages of Households who tried to buy and who bought
Sample: 2,500 to 3,000 for each period given.
Women’s Clothing
Percentage of Households who Tried to Buy Who Bought
Table 7
Percentages of those Households who tried to buy women's shoes who succeeded in buying them
Sample: those who tried to buy: 530 to 770 for each period given.
In the spring of 1943 about 80% of these who tried to buy women’s shoes were successful, but by the end of 1944 rather less than 70% succeeded. It has been shown that this decrease is due to the increased numbers trying to buy. The proportion of the whole sample able to buy does not show any significant decrease.
Overalls
The percentage trying to buy women’s overalls increased somewhat between March 1943 and March 1944, and after that declined. A parallel trend is shown by the percentage buying.
This shortage does not seem to have affected a very large section of the population. From 4% to 9% tried to buy overalls per month during the period studied. Of these some 82% were on an average successful.
Corsets and Brassieres
The percentage trying to buy corsets rises from about 15% at May 1943 to 21% at January 1945. The regression coefficient of the trend line is .59 and the overall increase is significant.
There are however, some marked fluctuations, and as in the case of shoes these are probably associated with coupon releases. During the latter half of 1943 and into the beginning of 1944 there is a slight decline in the percentage trying to buy and this is followed by a peak in March 1944 when new coupons were released. After that the demand remains relatively high for the rest of the period, and subsequent coupon releases have no noticeable effect on the figures.
The percentage buying corsets does not increase noticeably over the period as a whole, which suggests that supplies remained fairly stable.
The situation is similar to that found in the case of shoes with the difference that fewer of those who tried to buy were successful. On an average 47% of those who tried to buy corsets per month were successful. Up to January 1944, the average is 50% and over the rest of the period it is 44%.
In comparing the figures for corsets with those for shoes, it should be remembered that not all women in the household are concerned, and that whereas nearly all women wear leather shoes only a proportion of women wear corsets.
The percentage trying to buy brassieres is somewhat higher in January 1945 than at about May 1944. There is however no significant difference in the proportions buying brassieres. Prom 6% to 9% tried to buy and about 4% succeeded each month.
MEN'S CLOTHING
Only outdoor boots and shoes were studied over the whole period. Other items of men's clothing were not included after January 1944 when commodities about which information was more urgently needed were substituted.
Outdoor Boots and Shoes
The percentages trying to buy and buying men's boots and shoes do not rise or fall significantly over the period as a whole, but there are some significant fluctuations.
Both percentages are relatively low in May 1943, but there is an increase in September when new coupons were released. The percentage trying to buy is slightly but significantly higher in June and July than in May which cannot be explained by reference to coupon periods.
The drop in January 1944 and subsequent rise in March are probably associated with the end of the next coupon period and the release of new coupons in February. After this the percentages remain about the same for the rest of the period and the coupon release in September 1944 and the end of the next coupon period in January 1945 do not seem to have affected' the figures,
An average of 92% of those trying to buy men's shoes each month succeeded, compared with 75% of those trying to buy women's shoes. The shortage of men's shoes does not appear to have been as serious as that of women's shoes. The difference might be due to the fact that the range of styles available in men's shoes is normally more limited.
Other Items
Relatively small proportions tried to buy the other items of men’s clothing studied and there are no very noticeable differences over the short period for which these were studied.
There is a small but significant rise in the percentages trying to buy and buying working shirts September to November 1943. This might be a normal seasonal variation, or possibly it is associated with the release of ten extra coupons in September to some industrial workers.
The great majority of those trying to buy working trousers, shirts and overalls succeeded in doing so. However only an average of about 60% of those trying to by jackets each month succeeded.
CHILDREN'S CLOTHING *
Questions were asked about boys' and girls’ outdoor shoes, infants' leather shoes, boys' and girls' socks and hose, infants' carrying shawls and baby wool The percentages trying to buy and buying these are shown in Table 9
Diagrams are not given for boys’ and girls' socks and hose, as these were included only for a short period, or for infants' carrying shawls where the proportion trying to buy is only about 1%
Questions about childrens' and infants' shoes were not included in the inquiry for May 1943
Boys' and Girls' Outdoor Shoes
The proportions of housewives trying to buy shoes for boys and girls rose from 18% to 24% per four weeks' period, and from 15% to 21% were successful
Over the period as a whole there is no noticeable increase or decrease in either percentage.
Table 8
Men's Clothing
Percentages of Households who tried to buy and Who bought
Sample: 2,500 to 3,000 for each period given.
Men’s Clothing
Percentages households who Tried to Buy and who Bought
Table 9
CHILDREN'S CLOTHING
Percentages of Housewives who tried to buy and who bought
| 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | ||||||||||||||
| A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | J | M | M | J | S | N | J | ||
| Boy’s and Girl’s outdoor shoes | % Tried | 18 | * | 24 | 20 | 19 | 23 | 22 | 23 | 18 | 23 | 22 | 23 | 22 | 24 | 22 |
| % Bought | 15 | - | 21 | 17 | 15 | 20 | 19 | 21 | 16 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 19 | |
| Boy’s and Girls’ socks or hose | % Tried | 15 | 18 | 17 | 14 | |||||||||||
| % Bought | 13 | 16 | 16 | 13 | ||||||||||||
| Infants’ Leather Shoes | % Tried | 7 | * | 7 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 9 |
| % Bought | 6 | - | 6 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | |
| Infants’ Carrying Shawls | % Tried | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| % Bought | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Baby Wool | % Tried | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 5 |
| % Bought | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | |
Sample: 2,500 to 3,000 for each period given.
Children’s Clothings
Percentages of Housewives who Tried to Buy and Who Bought
As in the case of some other clothing items, there is a marked drop in January 1944 which might be associated with the end of the coupon period. Apart from this however, the results do not seem to be influenced by coupon releases.
Of those who tried to buy children's shoes each month, about 85% succeeded on an average. The figure varies very little from one month to another.
Infants' Leather Shoes
From 7% to 11% of housewives tried to buy infants' leather shoes per month and from 5% to 8% succeeded.
The percentages trying to buy and buying are both a little higher about September 1943, and from September to November 1944 than at other times, and rather lower at January 1944. There are however no very marked differences. On an average 79% of those who tried to buy infants' leather shoes each month were successful.
Other Items
From 5% to 8% of housewives tried to buy baby wool at each period, and from 3% to 5% were successful. On an average about 68% of those who tried were successful. The percentage trying to buy is relatively high during the autumn, both in 1943 and 1944.
From 14% to 18% tried to buy boys' or girls' socks or hose per month, and the great majority were successful.
1% or less tried to buy infants' carrying shawls each month of those trying, about three quarters were successful.
MISCELLANEOUS COMMODITIES
Shortages of needles, mending wool and tooth brushes were studied, the latter for only the second half of the period.
From 10% to 16% tried to buy needles per month, and from 6% to 11% succeeded. On an average about 70% of those who tried succeeded.
There is no noticeable increase or decrease in the percentages trying to buy and buying needles over the period as a whole.
From 27% to 39% tried to buy darning wool each month and from 21% to 28% succeeded. Although there is neither a marked upward or downward trend in these percentages over the period as a whole there are some considerable fluctuations, the fluctuations in the percentage buying and the percentage trying to buy being parallel.
From the beginning of the period until November 1943, both percentages rise, There is then a drop in January 1944, followed by a peak in March, and a subsequent decline until September. After this the percentages again rise.
Mending wool is different from most other commodities studied in that the supplies bought are used up, and so housewives are continually replacing their stocks. The other items studied are not used up although they have to be replaced at intervals because they wear out or are broken. A further consideration is that mending wool is the sort of commodity that is perhaps bought to some extent casually during shopping expedition. The cost is small and so the purchase can be made without much thought beforehand. Thus although a certain proportion of housewives with an immediate need for darning wool might set out specially to look for it, others might buy it anticipating a future need when they saw it. This would account for the fact that the fluctuations in the two lines are parallel. When darning wool is plentiful in the shops more housewives would ’’ try-to-buy-and-buy”, and when it is less plentiful, fewer would do so. Thus the fluctuation in both lines might to some extent be accounted for by variation in the supply. The colour of the darning wool available is also of some importance. This will be dealt with in a later section.
The percentage trying to buy tooth-brushes is somewhat lower from March to May 1943 than at the end of the period. The difference in the percentage buying is of doubtful significance. From 15% to 19% tried to buy tooth brushes per month and about two thirds of those trying were successful.
Table 10
MISCELLANEOUS COMMODITIES
Percentages of Housewives who tried to buy and who bought
Sample: 2,500 to 3,000 for each period given
MISCELLANEOUS COMMODITIES
Percentages of Housewives who Tried to Buy and who Bought
[6] A question “Are you out of stock?” was asked about the different items in some of the inquiries. The results of this question are not however given in this report since it was not found possible to arrive at a clear definition of “out of stock”, and the ideas of housewives on this point varied. A housewife in the higher economic group for instance might consider herself “out of stock” in sheets if only just one change of sheets were available, but for a poorer housewife this might be the normal state of affairs.