fascinating article on the birth of the first supermarket and how it changed daily life for everyone. note this interesting excerpt:

Not only did Cullen shake up the industry by offering low prices on a large scale, he revolutionized the chore of going to the market with the idea of one-stop shopping. Instead of customers dropping by three different stores to purchase meats and produce, they found everything under one roof. This increased people's reliance on cars. No longer did they make daily trips by foot to the corner store to pick up a few odds and ends. Rather, they made one trip and loaded up their cars every week, giving Cullen the volume of sales he needed for his business concept to thrive.

Women in particular were freed from the chore of shopping at several locations. "Supermarkets played a large role in liberating the woman," said Louis Bucklin, professor emeritus of business administration at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business. "They reduced the amount of time they had to spend on shopping, with fewer trips to the store."