History of Grocery store in Timeline

A grocery store, also known as a grocery shop or grocer's shop, is a retail establishment whose main focus is selling a wide variety of food items, both fresh and packaged. While in the US, the term "grocery store" is often used interchangeably with "supermarket," it's important to note that it doesn't typically refer to other types of stores that also sell groceries. In the UK, stores selling food are categorized as either grocers or grocery shops.

1916: Piggly Wiggly Opens

In 1916, the first self-service grocery store, Piggly Wiggly, was opened in Memphis, Tennessee, by Clarence Saunders.

1929: Novelty and Advertising

In 1929, according to Time, the self-service model of Piggly Wiggly proved successful "partly because of its novelty, partly because neat packages and large advertising appropriations have made retail grocery selling almost an automatic procedure."

1930: First Milk Bar

In 1930, the first business using the name "milk bar" was started in India.

2004: US Family Grocery Spending

In 2004, the average US family spent $280 per month, or $3,305 per year, at grocery stores.

March 24, 2008: Rising Food Prices

On March 24, 2008, it was reported that consumers worldwide were facing rising food prices due to factors like weather changes, higher oil prices, lower food reserves, and increased consumer demand in China and India.

2008: New Grocery Chains Started

In 2008, two grocery chains started in Chile: Unimarc, which acquired several small local chains, and Southern Cross, a Chilean Investment Fund.

2011: Global Food Waste Statistics

As of 2011, approximately 1.3 billion tons of food, about one-third of the global food production, was lost or wasted annually.

2012: European Online Grocer Sales

In 2012, sales from online grocers in Britain alone were €7.1 billion.

2013: US Online Grocer Sales

In 2013, sales from online grocers in the US were $15 billion.

2014: EU Year Against Food Waste

In 2014, the European Union declared it to be the "Year Against Food Waste."

2016: Largest Ethnic Grocery Chains

In 2016, the largest Hispanic supermarket chains were Superior Grocers, with $1.6 billion in sales, and El Súper-Bodega Latina, a division of Mexico's Chedraui Group, with $1.2 billion in sales.

2016: Projected Growth of Online Grocers in Europe

It was projected that some markets in Europe would experience a doubling in online grocery sales between 2012 and 2016.

2019: Online Food Retail in the US

As of 2019, approximately 3% of food in the US was purchased from online retailers such as Amazon.com.

2021: Global Food Waste Analysis

A 2021 analysis by the United Nations Environment Programme estimated global food waste at 931 million tonnes (around 121 kg per person) across three sectors: households (61%), food service (26%), and retail (13%).

2022: UN Biodiversity Conference Agreement

The 2022 UN Biodiversity Conference's agreement among nations aimed to achieve a 50% reduction in food waste by 2030.

2023: US Ethnic Grocery Store Sales

In 2023, IBISWorld estimates that US ethnic grocery stores will account for approximately $51 billion in sales, which is 6% of the total $819 billion in US supermarket sales.