The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1913-04-24
SIX MILLIONS A DAY.
The Amount Spent I'm New York
by Women.

/
shopping?
How many hundreds, thousands,
millions of dollars change hands
every twenty -four hours in the area
twenty blocks square, from Fourteen
street to Thirty-fourth street. .inclus-
i've? Remember, this area is not
merely the shopping centre of the
largest city on the western CONT
nent, but really the shopping centre
of that continent. When Mrs Knick-
erbocker and her country cousins
from Georgia, Kansas and Califor-
mia go out to shop, how much do
they spend?
According to the most carefully
considered judgments of represent
ative merchants in this great whirl-
pool of buying and selling, the total
sum passed over the counter every
business day Of the year is not less
than $4,000, 900, and very possibly
amounts up to. $4,000, 900. In short,
it would take the entire fortunes of
from six to q dozen men ordinarily
accounted rich to pay one days shop
ping bills in this square mile.
No such enormous sums change
hands in any other great shopping
centres of the world. The compos-
ure of the staid merchants of Bond
and Regent streets in London would
be rudely shattered if they were ac-
cused of taking in" from 81, l,0OO,-
600 to So, 900, 900 daily. Even in the
great and gay Partisan shops on the
Rue de Ia Paix and the Avenue de
|POpera such tremendous disburse-
ments are unknown. New York has
long been known as the shoppers
heaven and now we see how densely
populated is our paradise.
There is probably no street or ave-
nue in the entire CITY which is wholly
devoid of shopping or shoppers. But
careful observer must agree that
the most thoroughly shopped section
is bounded by Fourteenth street on
the south and Thirty-fourth street
on the north, with 1wenty-third street
as mid-rib. This square mile of
course extends east and west to in
clude Broadway and Fifth and Sixth
avenues. Each one of these three
thoroughfares has shops which may
not be omitted from the most cursory
summary of the city's shopping ia
cilities.
There are several methods Of solv-
ing these problems. This is one
chosen by a member of the firm of a
great department store.
There are at least ten depart
ment stores of the first rank in New
York's square mile of shopping" he
began. by actual count it has been
ascertained that from 10000 to co.
900 perSbns enter each one of these
stores every business day. 1t is fair
to assume that the average purchase
is S., for in almost any shop the ay-
erage is from $40 to $40. So, SIS per
customer per day is conservative es-
innate for all the department stores.
Taking the lowest average mum
Der of customers tor each shop, 3O,.
600 and multiplying that by ten, you
have a daily total of 100000 custom
ers. If each buys S. worth the amount
of money spent per day in these ten
shops aggregate 81, 500, 900. tits also
conservative to estimate the whole
sale and mail order business in tht
square mile from Fourteenth stree
to Thirty-fourth street as three time;
the retail business-sa &,500,00O
day. That brings the grand tota
up to S6,OOO,O0O.
"Of course, the business conduct
ed by the wholesale and mail orde
houses is merely long distance shop
ping and | am sure that | have grea.
" underestimated the daily return
of these enterprises.
Co,o~ol ntbor rpornhantc pOt th,