Piggly Wiggly, the first true grocery store - Life in America

A look back at the first self-serve grocery store, Piggly Wiggly.

On September 6, 1916, Piggly Wiggly was founded by Clarence Saunders in Memphis, TN.

It stocked more than 1,000 products, which was four times more than a typical market.

Prior to Piggly Wiggly, groceries were sold at stores where a clerk would assemble your order for you, weighing out dry goods from large barrels.

The store was the first of its kind, a self-serve grocery store that saved shoppers money. Inside the store, customers were free to walk through the aisles, check out the merchandise, and pick the products up themselves.

The name of the store was shrouded in mystery. Someone once asked Saunders why he had chosen such an unusual name for his store, and he replied, “So people ask that very question.” He wanted a name that would be talked about and remembered.

By the end of that first year there were nine Piggly Wiggly locations around Memphis.

Piggly Wiggly was the FIRST for many things that are still a part of the grocery shopping experience today. Shopping baskets, uniformed employees, checkout stands, price-marked items, and refrigerated cases were all firsts at Piggly Wiggly.

Today there are more than 530 Piggly Wiggly stores serving communities in 17 states, most notably in the Southeast.

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