Today in History: A Shopping Revolution

On this day (September 6) in 1916, Piggly Wiggly, the first self-service grocery store opened in Memphis, Tennessee. Up until this time, customers handed a clerk a list of items they wished to purchase and the clerk gathered them. As an effort to cut costs, Piggly Wiggly allowed customers to roam the store themselves, gathering their own items. This also provided the customer the opportunity to be inspired to purchase items they hadn’t intended to buy. It was a revolution in both sales and shopping.