Supermarket
A former garage in Jamaica, Queens, New York City, became the birthplace of the modern supermarket on the 4th of August 1930. Michael J. Cullen opened King Kullen there with a simple philosophy: pile it high and sell it cheap. Before this moment, customers waited behind counters while clerks fetched items from shelves. Merchants did not post prices, forcing shoppers to haggle over every purchase. The clerk's awareness of a customer's social status often determined the final cost. Early grocery stores held as few as 450 items and required multiple trips to specialty shops for meat, bread, or produce. An average urban family spent fully one-third of its budget on food during the 1920s. Vincent Astor tried an earlier version called the Astor Market in 1915 but failed within two years. Clarence Saunders introduced self-service through Piggly Wiggly stores starting in 1916, yet true supermarkets remained elusive until Cullen combined self-service with discount pricing and separate departments.
The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company faced a terrible shock when converting traditional stores into supermarkets. Thousands of retail employees lost their jobs as the new format replaced social interaction with tedious, specialized tasks. Stock clerks moved boxes while checkout clerks faced never-ending lines of impatient shoppers. In A&P's traditional grocery stores, wages and overhead expenses consumed 18 percent of sales. Newly opened supermarkets reduced those same numbers to less than 12 percent of sales. By 1937, 44 percent of A&P stores were losing money before they pivoted to the supermarket model. The number of American supermarkets tripled from 1,200 in 1936 to over 3,000 in 1937. Disposable income spent by consumers on food plunged from 21 percent in 1930 to 16 percent in 1940. Large chains used buying power to purchase goods at lower prices than smaller stores could match. They minimized financing costs by paying for goods at least 30 days after receipt. Some extracted credit terms of 90 days or more from vendors. This shift crushed numerous independent small stores along the way.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture presented an American Way exhibit at the International Food Congress in Rome, Italy, in 1956. It featured the first fully stocked supermarket outside of the United States with about 2,500 items. Conference attendees and local Italian visitors stood bewildered by mountains of food that dwarfed anything seen before. Supermarket USA followed in 1957 at the Zagreb International Trade Fair in Yugoslavia. That exhibit contained 4,000 consumer items in a 10,000 square-foot space. These displays served as shock and awe instruments of American propaganda during the Cold War. Canada implemented the format in 1934 when Steinberg's opened its first store in Montréal. The UK saw just ten self-service shops in 1947 until Patrick Galvani pitched his Premier Supermarkets brand. His Streatham location took in ten times as much revenue per week as the average British general store. British supermarkets exploded from roughly 50 in 1950 to over 3,400 by 1969. European companies began investing in Asia while American firms targeted Latin America and China starting in the 1990s.
Fresh produce sits deliberately at the front of the store to create a sense of health and freshness for shoppers. Bakeries usually dedicate 30 to 40 feet of floor space to the bread aisle near the entrance. Necessity items like milk and bread are found at the rear of the store to increase circulation through the entire facility. Most supermarkets place their entrance on the right-hand side because research suggests counter-clockwise movement increases spending. High-draw products occupy separate areas to keep drawing consumers deeper into the aisles. Products appealing to children sit at mid-thigh level while profitable brands rest at eye level. Cheap generic brands line the lowest shelves to minimize impulse buys there. Aisle ends receive top dollar payments from manufacturers seeking high exposure for promotions or new lines. Small displays of candy, magazines, and drinks tempt shoppers while they wait at checkout counters. Service areas such as restrooms are placed to draw customers past certain products to generate extra sales.
Wal-Mart Supercenters average more than 170,000 square feet and devote up to 40 percent of space to grocery items. Costco operates warehouse clubs with approximately 120,000 square-foot stores that offer bulk quantities to members. Aldi and Lidl function as limited-assortment discount formats carrying fewer than 2,000 SKUs per location. Whole Foods and The Fresh Market emphasize perishables and ethnic foods in fresh format stores. Dollar General and Family Dollar sell food and consumable items accounting for 20 to 66 percent of their volume. Military commissaries look like conventional grocery stores but restrict access to active or retired personnel only. Webvan went bankrupt after three years during the dot-com boom before Amazon acquired it. Ocado became the first successful online-only supermarket using high automation in its warehouses. Micro-fulfillment centers now prepare orders for pickup or home delivery through sophisticated rack-and-tote systems. These centers aim to reduce costs by shortening distances from store to home.
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Common questions
When and where did the modern supermarket open?
The first modern supermarket opened on the 4th of August 1930 in a former garage in Jamaica, Queens, New York City. Michael J. Cullen established King Kullen with a philosophy to pile goods high and sell them cheap.
How many supermarkets existed in America by 1937?
The number of American supermarkets tripled from 1,200 in 1936 to over 3,000 in 1937. This rapid growth occurred after chains like A&P pivoted to the supermarket model following financial losses in their traditional stores.
Which country implemented the supermarket format in 1934?
Canada implemented the supermarket format in 1934 when Steinberg's opened its first store in Montréal. The United Kingdom saw just ten self-service shops in 1947 before Patrick Galvani launched Premier Supermarkets.
Why do supermarkets place fresh produce at the front of the store?
Fresh produce sits deliberately at the front of the store to create a sense of health and freshness for shoppers. Necessity items like milk and bread are found at the rear of the store to increase circulation through the entire facility.
What is the average square footage of a Wal-Mart Supercenter?
Wal-Mart Supercenters average more than 170,000 square feet and devote up to 40 percent of space to grocery items. Costco operates warehouse clubs with approximately 120,000 square-foot stores that offer bulk quantities to members.