In what decade did the first formal consumer behavior research emerge as an academic discipline, revolutionizing how retailers understood their customers?

Throughout history, retailers have evolved their understanding of consumer behavior. Before modern data analytics and AI, merchants and shopkeepers relied on different methods to understand their customers' preferences. This poll explores a pivotal moment in retail history when scientific approaches to consumer behavior first emerged, fundamentally changing how businesses approached customer psychology and purchasing patterns.

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1920s - Following post-WWI economic boom when department stores began systematic customer studies
1940s - During WWII when government rationing required deeper understanding of consumption patterns
1950s - When Ernest Dichter and others established motivational research to analyze consumer psychology
1970s - Alongside the rise of computerized inventory systems that enabled the first data-driven retail analytics