The concept of a self-service grocery store was developed by entrepreneur Clarence Saunders (August 9, 1881 – September 23, 1953) and his Piggly Wiggly stores. His first store opened at 79 Jefferson Street in Memphis, Tennessee on September 6, 1916.
The checkouts and turnstile entrance at Saunders' stores proved such a success that by 1923 a further 2,800 Piggly Wigglies had sprung up across the U.S thus creating the first supermarket chain.
The Food Marketing Institute in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution determined that the first true supermarket in the United States was opened by entrepreneur Michael J. Cullen, on August 4, 1930. His King Kullen Grocery Company was located inside a 6,000-square-foot (560 m2) former garage in Jamaica, Long Island, New York.
Instead of installing elaborate fittings, or even shelves, Cullen piled his goods high and sold them cheap. About 300 loss-leader goods were sold at cost price to draw in customers, who then served themselves.
Within two years, Cullen had opened seven more King Kullen Market stores in buildings that had been owned by bankrupted businesses, in and around New York. Parts of each store were franchised to specialist traders at relatively low rents.
When people visited the first supermarkets, they were afraid to pick things up in case they were told off.
The London Co-Op opened at Manor Park in East London in 1948. It was Britain's first supermarket, featuring a whole variety of goods under one roof.
Safeway was established in 1962 in the United Kingdom by the American supermarket chain Safeway Inc. Its first British purpose-built supermarket, which opened in Bedford, offered grand-scale self-service grocery shopping in Britain for the first time. By 1987, Safeway had 133 shops around the United Kingdom.
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| The original Piggly Wiggly Store, Memphis, Tennessee |
The checkouts and turnstile entrance at Saunders' stores proved such a success that by 1923 a further 2,800 Piggly Wigglies had sprung up across the U.S thus creating the first supermarket chain.
The Food Marketing Institute in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution determined that the first true supermarket in the United States was opened by entrepreneur Michael J. Cullen, on August 4, 1930. His King Kullen Grocery Company was located inside a 6,000-square-foot (560 m2) former garage in Jamaica, Long Island, New York.
Instead of installing elaborate fittings, or even shelves, Cullen piled his goods high and sold them cheap. About 300 loss-leader goods were sold at cost price to draw in customers, who then served themselves.
Within two years, Cullen had opened seven more King Kullen Market stores in buildings that had been owned by bankrupted businesses, in and around New York. Parts of each store were franchised to specialist traders at relatively low rents.
When people visited the first supermarkets, they were afraid to pick things up in case they were told off.
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| A supermarket in Sweden in 1941 |
The London Co-Op opened at Manor Park in East London in 1948. It was Britain's first supermarket, featuring a whole variety of goods under one roof.
Safeway was established in 1962 in the United Kingdom by the American supermarket chain Safeway Inc. Its first British purpose-built supermarket, which opened in Bedford, offered grand-scale self-service grocery shopping in Britain for the first time. By 1987, Safeway had 133 shops around the United Kingdom.
Wal-Mart was founded in 1962 by Sam and Bud Walton in Rogers, Arkansas. They set up the company with a $20,000 loan from Sam Walton's father-in-law and it was worth $25 billion when he died in 1992.
Former newspaper reporter turned Kresge store manager Harry Cunningham opened the first Kmart in a suburb of Detroit on March 1, 1962, just four months before the first Walmart.
The first computerized supermarket checkout was put in place in the U.S in 1976. Bar codes had began appearing on food packaging since two years previously.
Former newspaper reporter turned Kresge store manager Harry Cunningham opened the first Kmart in a suburb of Detroit on March 1, 1962, just four months before the first Walmart.
The first computerized supermarket checkout was put in place in the U.S in 1976. Bar codes had began appearing on food packaging since two years previously.
A&P supermarkets, the "Wal-Mart before Wal-Mart"; dominated American retail from 1910-1950, before falling into a long decline following federal anti-trust lawsuits and later corporate mismanagement. It survived until 2015 as a minor regional supermarket chain.
In 2019, the Dutch supermarket chain Jumbo introduced "slow checkout lanes" for customers who prefer a more leisurely pace and enjoy chatting with the checkout employees. These lanes are designed to offer a more relaxed and personal shopping experience, with no pressure to rush through the checkout process.
In 2021 Jumbo introduced a policy that if all queues have four people in them and not all checkout lanes are open yet, then you get your groceries for free.
According to a recent survey, two per cent of people have fallen in love at a supermarket.
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