The UK's oldest supermarket that opened long before Sainsbury's, Tesco and Morrisons

Long before the likes of Morrisons, Tesco and Sainsbury's, food shopping was a slow and social activity. Shoppers stood in line as assistants weighed sugar, cut cheese, wrapped butter, and fetched tins for each customer. But more than 75 years ago, one shop triggered a cultural shift in the way Brits shopped forever.

Customer needs had started to change, influenced by wartime pressures, international inspiration and social change. By the late 1940s, there was a real drive to make food distribution more efficient, with long queues during rationing years as staff weighed out basics like butter, tea, and sugar.

Britain also faced a shortage of shop workers. Many men had gone to war and never returned to retail, while women were working in more varied industries, so this revolutionary new model meant fewer staff were needed behind counters.

Women who had previously done the bulk of the housework were busy supporting the war effort, and they did not have the time to queue in long lines.

By the late 1940s, advances in food packaging also made it possible for goods to sit safely on shelves, with icons like Heinz and Cadbury leading the shift.

So in January 1948, the Co-operative opened Britain's first self-service store at Manor Park, East London, and it is widely regarded as Britain's first real supermarket.

Shopping was no longer a polite transaction at the counter. Customers grabbed a wire basket, wandered among shelves, chose pre-packaged goods themselves, and then queued at a single checkout.

It was already proving successful in the United States, where Piggly Wiggly opened in 1916, and that first store in East London lit the fuse in Britain.

Tesco, which started as a market stall in London, opened a self-service store in St Albans later in 1948. Sainsbury's opened its first store in Croydon in 1950, Morrisons in 1958, and by the late 1950s, supermarkets had sprung up across the UK.

For many, the speed was a novelty. It meant they could shop faster and sometimes cheaper, as each shop tried to undercut the rest.

However, not everyone welcomed the change. Such competitive pricing put many of the smaller shops out of business, and shoppers mourned the loss of the corner grocer's personal touch.

Last year, there were more than 32,000 supermarkets across the UK.