History of Supermarket in Timeline

A supermarket is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food, beverages, and household products, all organized into distinct sections under one roof. Originating in the United States around 1930, it emerged from earlier retail innovations. The concept gained international recognition and spread globally after 1956. While the terms 'grocery store' and 'supermarket' are sometimes used interchangeably in American English, a supermarket is generally understood to be larger and more diverse in its offerings than a typical grocery store but smaller than a hypermarket or megastore.

1915: Vincent Astor Founded Astor Market

In 1915, Vincent Astor invested $750,000 to establish the Astor Market at 95th and Broadway, Manhattan. This open-air mini-mall aimed to sell meat, fruit, produce, and flowers.

1916: First Piggly Wiggly store opened

In 1916, entrepreneur Clarence Saunders opened the first Piggly Wiggly self-service grocery store. Saunders patented various innovative ideas incorporated into his stores, and the concept was a financial success, leading to franchise opportunities.

1917: Astor Market Folded

In 1917, the Astor Market, founded by Vincent Astor, closed due to difficulties attracting customers, even from nearby blocks.

1929: Combination stores were not yet widespread

By 1929, combination stores, which combined several departments under one roof, only accounted for one in three U.S. grocery stores.

August 1930: First true supermarket opened by Michael J. Cullen

On August 4, 1930, Michael J. Cullen opened the first true supermarket, King Kullen, in Jamaica, Queens, New York City. It featured self-service, separate product departments, discount pricing, marketing, and volume selling.

1930: Decline in Disposable Income Spent on Food

By 1930, American consumers spent 21 percent of their disposable income on food.

1930: Alpha Beta and Ralphs chains operated self-service grocery stores

By 1930, Southern California grocery store chains Alpha Beta and Ralphs were operating multiple 12,000-square-foot self-service grocery stores, but their prices remained high.

1930: Supermarket retail format appeared in the United States

In 1930, the supermarket retail format first appeared in the United States, representing the culmination of nearly two decades of retail innovations in grocery stores.

1933: Big Bear supermarket opened in New Jersey

In 1933, Big Bear opened its first supermarket in New Jersey and generated more revenue in one year than over a hundred A&P stores.

1933: Monopsony Concept Proposed

In 1933, Cambridge economist Joan Robinson proposed the concept of "monopsony", which suggests a single buyer can outmaneuver a market of multiple sellers.

1934: First Supermarket Opened in Québec

In 1934, Québec's first supermarket opened in Montréal under the banner of Steinberg's.

1936: Seventeen King Kullen stores in operation at time of Cullen's death

By 1936, at the time of Michael J. Cullen's death, there were seventeen King Kullen stores in operation.

1936: Robinson-Patman Act Implemented

In 1936, the Robinson-Patman Act was implemented to prevent large chains from using their buying power to gain advantages over small stores, although the act was not well enforced.

1936: American Supermarket Growth

In 1936, the number of American supermarkets almost tripled, growing from 1,200 to over 3,000 in 32 to 47 states.

1937: 44 percent of A&P stores were losing money

By 1937, 44 percent of A&P stores were losing money due to the rise of supermarkets.

1937: American Supermarket Growth

In 1937, the number of American supermarkets grew to over 3,000 in 47 states.

1938: A&P opened over 1,100 supermarkets

By 1938, A&P had opened over 1,100 supermarkets in response to changing retail landscape.

February 1940: A&P Closed Grocery Stores

By February 1940, A&P had closed 5,950 grocery stores and reduced its percentage of money-losing stores to 18 percent.

1940: Decline in Disposable Income Spent on Food

By 1940, the percentage of disposable income spent on food by American consumers had decreased to 16 percent.

1947: Limited self-service shops in UK

In 1947, there were just ten self-service shops in the United Kingdom.

1950: American Supermarket Growth

By 1950, the number of American supermarkets had grown to over 15,000.

1950: British supermarkets increased

In 1950, there were roughly 50 British supermarkets.

1951: Premier Supermarkets brand opened in Streatham, South London

In 1951, Patrick Galvani, opened the UK's first supermarket under the Premier Supermarkets brand in Streatham, South London, generating ten times more revenue per week than the average British general store.

1956: Supermarkets began to spread to other countries

In 1956, supermarkets began to spread to other countries after receiving extensive worldwide publicity.

1956: U.S. Department of Agriculture presented an "American Way exhibit" at the International Food Congress in Rome

In 1956, the U.S. Department of Agriculture showcased the "American Way exhibit" at the International Food Congress in Rome, Italy. The exhibit featured the first fully stocked supermarket outside of the United States, with approximately 2,500 items.

1957: Supermarket USA Exhibition

In 1957, the U.S. Department of Commerce and the National Association of Food Chains presented Supermarket USA at the Zagreb International Trade Fair in Yugoslavia, featuring 4,000 consumer items in a 10,000 square-foot exhibit, showcasing the first operational American-style supermarket in a communist country.

1960: Galvani lost to Tesco's Jack Cohen in 1960 to buy 212 stores of the Irwin's chain

After Galvani lost out to Tesco's Jack Cohen in 1960 to buy 212 stores of the Irwin's chain, the sector underwent significant consolidation, resulting in "the big four" dominant UK supermarket chains: Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons.

1961: British supermarkets increased

By 1961, the number of British supermarkets had grown to 572.

1969: British supermarkets increased

By 1969, there were over 3,400 British supermarkets.

1997: Reverend John Papworth's criticism of supermarkets

In 1997, Reverend John Papworth criticized giant supermarkets, calling them "places of evil and temptation" and destroyers of local communities.

2007: ActionAid report on British supermarkets

In 2007, an ActionAid report estimated that 32 million people shopped in British supermarkets every week.

2009: Wal-Mart's grocery sales

In 2009, 51% of Wal-Mart's $251 billion domestic sales were from grocery goods.

2018: Supermarket Statistics in the United States

As of 2018, there were approximately 38,000 supermarkets in the United States. Americans spent $701 billion at supermarkets that year. The average American adult will spend 2 percent of their life inside supermarkets.