The Ladies’ Paradise is set in Paris in the mid-1800s at the moment when the department store was becoming popular in Europe. The department store embodies a broader move toward a consumerist culture in which the acquisition of goods, particularly those not necessary for survival, became a means of demonstrating status. The customers at The Ladies’ Paradise spend money as a way of signaling their wealth and status to others. The department store gathers different types of shops under one roof. Whereas customers previously visited different stores to buy lace, silk, and other items, they can now purchase everything in one place. The department store is made possible by changes in the economy and production, as Mouret finances expansion through complex financial arrangements while he stocks the shelves with goods from a variety of manufacturers. He turns his store into a model of consumerism, making the necessity of shopping into a pastime in itself. Mouret understands that in an affluent society, the act of shopping is more important than whatever is being sold. He gives them the opportunity to make consumption glamorous, fun, and enviable.

Each of the large stores in Paris controls a swath of the city and, importantly, displaces the smaller businesses that were once there.