Markets as producers and consumers: The French and United States national bicycle markets, 1875--1910

In theory, markets are composed of buyers and sellers, but in practice economic sociologists research industries much more than consumers. Existing theories in the sociology of consumption indicate that product use is socially constructed, can be highly variable, and will influence sales. I argue that product use is part of the product's market; that social influences on consumers affect product use; and that producers, who also face social influences, depend upon and therefore try to influence consumers.; To test these ideas, I trace the history of the early national markets for bicycles in France and the United States (1875-1910). The dangerous high-wheel bicycle developed in England in the 1870s, and soon spread to France and America. Producers in both countries formed similar national industries and helped consumers create consumption-oriented organizations. To consumer complaints about dangerous product use, producers responded with new designs. New consumers entered the markets, and both national industries grew apace. Elites in both countries previously ignored bicycles, but suddenly "took to" them in the early 1890s. This fashion created popularity for bicycles. During the 1890s both markets expanded. French producers responded gradually to growth in the French market, but American producers over-responded to the quick increase in consumers and flooded the national markets. This lowered prices, and working-class consumers entered both markets. Simultaneously, elites switched to automobiles just before 1900. These two developments nearly destroyed the U.S. market, but barely affected the French market. Ethnic and racial conditions were crucial in allowing the French bicycle market to continue expanding, while differing conditions in the United States helped doom that national bicycle industry to a disastrous crash. Over the first decade of the twentieth century, the U.S. market declined further, due to increasing automobile use, while the French market expanded and consumers worked with producers to develop new types of product design. I conclude that use is part of the market, and I suggest hypotheses that I hope will be tested in other product markets.