Self-service

Self-service is a retail format in which customers select goods themselves rather than receiving them from a clerk. It shifts product selection and some handling from store staff to shoppers.

Self-service store: A retail store where customers select merchandise directly from shelves or displays. It is the basic physical setting in which customers take over product selection.
Piggly Wiggly: An American grocery chain founded by Clarence Saunders in 1916 and associated with early self-service supermarkets. Its Memphis store became a prominent early model for customers selecting groceries themselves.
Convenience store: A small retail store selling everyday items, often with extended hours and quick transactions. Its compact assortment and fast shopping rely on customers selecting goods directly.
Full-service retail: A retail model in which employees perform most customer-facing tasks, including selecting or retrieving goods. It places product handling with staff rather than shoppers.
Retail automation: The use of machines and software to perform retail tasks that workers or customers once completed manually. Self-checkout and other tools automate tasks within self-service stores.
Shopping basket: A portable container shoppers use to collect goods while shopping. Baskets let shoppers carry selected items through the store without clerk assistance.
Clarence Saunders: An American entrepreneur who founded Piggly Wiggly and developed an influential self-service grocery format. Saunders designed a store system that made shoppers move through merchandise and pay at an exit.
Superstore: A very large retail store combining a broad product range with high-volume, self-service shopping. It scales self-service across groceries and general merchandise.
Assisted self-service: A service arrangement in which customers complete tasks themselves while staff provide help when needed. It combines customer-led shopping with more employee support than standard self-service.
Retail labor: Work performed in stores and other retail settings, including stocking, selling, and checkout. Self-service changes how labor is divided between employees and customers.

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