It is easy to forget how recent the phenomenon of the modern grocery store actually is - it only dates back to 1916, when the first Piggly Wiggly was opened in Memphis, Tennessee. Before that, grocers operated as “over the counter”, as in you would walk up to the counter at the front of the store, and ask the clerk to retrieve whatever quantity of items you actually needed, instead of wander around the store with a basket and select what you wanted from the shelves.

This shift in how consumers shopped for groceries is critical in understanding how we’ve gotten to the mass consumerist environments we have today. The older format of over the counter shopping is innately a needs-based transaction, as beside wall posters and maybe some items in the windows catching your eyes, the only items you are going to purchase are the ones you already knew you needed entering the store - and for the most part this was “groceries” in the original sense - dry, bulk goods such as spices, peppers, sugar, cocoa, tea, coffee.

A “gross”, after all, is a bulk quantity of something¹, and a “grocer” was where you went to purchase that quantity.

It’s amazing tracking consumer trends across history, and seeing how much consumer habits changed as the “Piggly Wiggly” format of store became more and more trendy. While the original pitch of the store format was that since fewer clerks were needed to help customers, service would be much quicker, the change over to a wants-based purchasing setup is clear. When you are wandering around the store, the store has more time to show you more items, and you are more likely to make impulse purchases.

Branding shifted with this trend, with boxes no longer being just storage for an item but also an aisle-side pitch for why you should buy it. Brand Mascots, Sugary Breakfasts, the collapse of small butchers and bakeries - all of these can be directly linked back to the Piggly Wiggly.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently, especially with regards to my own consumption habits. It’s easy to forget that the world as it is today is not how it always was, or how it always will be, and that we have the power to make change.

Understanding the history behind our current shopping habits makes me more inclined to stop following those patterns, but how?

It can be simple to say “I’ll only shop for what I need”, but Grocery stores are specifically designed to get you to buy more. How many times have you gone for that one item and came home with candy or chips too?

Was that your choice, or marketing dark patterns at work? The machinery of enticement is always at play.

My New Rule for Grocery Shopping

Overcoming a dark pattern - any dark pattern - can be done relatively simply: You just need to keep paying attention.

The tricky part is that there are a lot of different things vying for your attention at any one time; especially in a Super Market. So the secret is not just to pay attention, but also keep in mind your intent.

At first, my intent in the grocery store was to “buy less stuff”, mainly for pricing reasons, as groceries in Canada are becoming more and more expensive.

Then I thought back to the Piggly Wiggly, and how my great grandparents used to shop. It’s not just a matter of buying less, it’s a matter of only buying what you need, and treating the grocery store as if they only have what you need in the first place.

What I need from the grocery store is a little more complicated then what my great grandparents did, since I don’t have access to a community butcher for meats, or a garden for fresh vegetables - all of this I purchase at the super market.

With some tinkering, this is the final ruleset I’ve been using while I shop.

1. I can only purchase the following:
   • In Season Vegetables & Produce
   • Fresh meat & Deli cuts
   • Fresh bakery items
   • Pantry Goods
2. When purchasing an item, I must follow these rules:
   • Be Brandless (Store Brand takes Priority)
   • Be Local
3. When purchasing pantry goods, it should be sugarless when possible.

I haven’t come up with a name for this process yet. Something like “Vintage Shopping” or “Anti-Piggly Wiggly”. The idea is to refocus on my health, wellness, and happiness, by making the right choice at the grocery store.

By following these rules, shopping remains easy. It’s not a game of denying myself things, but instead subsituting with better options that are already in the same store.

With time, I plan on expanding this system to give myself time to shop at local bakers and butchers, both of which are a little further out of my way then the Super Market. The hope is to someday be in a primed position to make choices like “I don’t need cookies, I can make those at home” an easy, mindless one - just like the kind of choices older generations made.

Notes