Piggly Wiggly : Revolutionary Innovation in Retail Market

Piggly Wiggly : Revolutionary Innovation in Retail Market

Super markets, which are now a norm, have mushroomed all across the world, India included. The genesis for these supermarkets stem from a remarkable innovation, which came from an applied mind of an American boy (born in poverty) - Mr Clarence Saunders - who introduced the first ever super market to the world - the Piggly Wiggly.

The humble neighbourhood किराना (kirana) shop ( grocery shop), which most of my generation grew up with, has changed with time as a result of innovation and technological advancements. The supermarkets and the ultramodern stores, which we see today, owe their genesis to a journey of their evolution that began with the outstanding innovation by Clarence Saunders, who founded a revolutionary concept of self service in the retail market.

Clarence Saunders, who served as a grocer boy in a shop, had observed the customers and believed that there must be a better way to serve the customers. His experience and innovative mind helped him found a new revolutionary concept, of self service shopping in retail market. He opened a grocery shop with his new concept under a strange sounding name “Piggly Wiggly”, in 1916. One hundred years ago this new concept was a path breaking enterprise that changed the face of retail market. When Piggly Wiggly opened its doors in Memphis, Tennessee on September 6, 1916, it became the first truly modern American supermarket.

Until the beginning of the Piggly Wiggly stores, customers were typically forced to wait behind a counter to request items stored beyond their reach and view. With limited employees manning the counters, often times, the customers had to wait a while for their turns to get what they wished. If other customers were in line, people had to wait even longer. In the newly opened "cafeteria grocery", Saunders moved the stockroom into the front of the store and allowed customers to roam the aisles and select their own groceries, the idea of which was truly revolutionary in 1916.

Saunders innovation, the Piggly Wiggly a strangely sounding name, turned the then existing retail market model on its head. Shoppers no longer needed to be at the mercy of the grocer. They were invited into the store, handed a shopping basket, and left free to move around the grocery store to touch and feel their chosen items and know the price of each of the items. Shoppers to Piggy Wiggly could pick and choose what they liked at their own pace and fill their cart and checkout of the stores paying for whatever they selected. This may not sound very impressive now, but imagine this concept one hundred years back when no one had ever thought of self-service grocery shopping the way Saunders thought of it. Commemorating the centenary of Piggly Wiggly innovation the TIME magazine paid tributes by stating “Piggly Wiggly was the original grocery store, which not only introduced grocery carts, but also price-marked items, employees in uniform, and the supermarket franchise model.”

Piggly Wiggly permanently changed the face of grocery shopping not only in America but around the world. When people asked Saunders why he gave his grocery store such a funny little name, he is reported to have said, "So that people will ask that very question." It seems to have worked, because even after the centenary of the Piggly Wiggly stores, people still ask the reason for naming it with a strangely looking name. Saunders was also a master marketing man and the launch of his new store was truly memorable and one could quite easily compare his launch with the launch of the Apple products by their founder late Steve Jobs. Saunders grand opening of his Piggly Wiggly included a jazz band on top of one of the refrigerator units, a beauty contest, flowers for the ladies, and balloons for children. History was made, and reportedly several thousand people showed up to witness Saunders self-service grocery shopping.

Piggly Wiggly store was an immediate financial success -- quicker for customers, less labour intensive for the shopkeeper, the new format allowed multiple customers to shop at the same time, and led to the previously unknown phenomenon of impulse shopping. Saunders soon patented his self-service concept, and began franchising Piggly Wiggly stores. Within five years, the chain had more than a thousand stores, and was the nation's largest grocery retailer. Sadly, during the Great Depression, Saunders was forced to sell the company after a long financial battle with Wall Street investors.

Next time whenever you go to a supermarket, please spare a thought for Clarence Saunders innovation, which made them possible. Long live Innovation, which is more than mere conversion of knowledge into a workable technology. It implies an S&T-led solution that benefits economy and human society.