Piggly Wiggly is an American supermarket chain operating in the American Southern and Midwestern regions run by Piggly Wiggly, LLC, an affiliate of C&S Wholesale Grocers. Its first outlet opened in 1916 in Memphis, Tennessee, and is notable as the first true self-service grocery store, and the originator of various familiar supermarket features such as checkout stands, individual item price marking and shopping carts. The company headquarters is in Keene, New Hampshire. As of 2024, 503 independently owned Piggly Wiggly stores currently operate across 18 states, primarily in smaller cities and towns.
Historical marker near the site of the first Piggly Wiggly store in Memphis, Tennessee
The original Piggly Wiggly Store, Memphis, Tennessee, 1918
A Piggly Wiggly store in Springhill, Louisiana, in August 2011
A supermarket is a self-service shop offering a wide variety of food, beverages and household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earlier grocery stores, but is smaller and more limited in the range of merchandise than a hypermarket or big-box market. In everyday United States usage, however, "grocery store" is often used to mean "supermarket".
Astor Market in New York, one predecessor of the modern supermarket, operated from 1915 to 1917.
A supermarket in Sweden, 1941
Consumers shopping for produce and fruit, 2012
S-market store with 24/7 service in Klaukkala, Finland, 2022