6 Piggly Wiggly Secrets Employees Wish South Carolinians Knew

After enough trips, your regular grocery store can feel like second nature to you.

Still, some Piggly Wiggly details tend to slip past even loyal South Carolina shoppers.

Here are the details worth knowing before your next trip to the Pig.

1. Independent Store Owners

Piggly Wiggly is a franchise, and its FAQ on ThePig.net says each store is independently owned and operated.

The brand’s website says it issues franchises to qualified independent grocery retailers and provides them with support, marketing programs and a line of promotional items.

The brand claims more than 500 stores in 18 states, though its store locator lists 17 state pages.

The FAQ says messages submitted on the site will be forwarded to the store or stores they reference.

Job applications should be made in person at the store where you want to work.

So a rule you read online may work differently at your store.

Many employees likely wish shoppers understood that.

2. The 90-Day Clock

According to the program page on ThePig.net, Piggly Wiggly’s Pig Point$ points expire 90 days after you earn them.

Points earned in January expire in April, for example.

If you save points for a bigger reward, you need to reach it before your oldest points expire.

3. Excluded Purchases

Piggly Wiggly’s Pig Point$ page lists alcohol, beer, wine and tobacco among the purchases that earn no points, along with pharmacy prescriptions.

Gift cards, phone cards, postage stamps, money orders and lottery are on the list too.

If you buy any of those during a trip, they add nothing to the points you earn.

4. A Look-Alike Loyalty Program

Piggly Wiggly has a rewards program with almost the same name in Wisconsin.

Piggly Wiggly Midwest, a Wisconsin group, calls its program Pig Points! and posts it on ShopThePig.com.

Its page lists 2,000 points for $1 off, while the program on ThePig.net needs 100.

You earn 10 points for every $1 you spend.

By that math, $1 off takes $200 in spending.

Its points expire 60 days after the month you earn them.

So if you search for Piggly Wiggly rewards and land on the Wisconsin page, you’re reading the rules for a different program.

5. Phone-Number Membership

Pig Point$ membership at Piggly Wiggly is digital, the program page says, so you don’t need to carry a card.

Registration takes a mobile phone number.

At checkout, you’ll see a rewards tab after entering your phone number if you have a reward available.

Your reward is applied to your transaction automatically.

Piggly Wiggly’s home page on ThePig.net also promotes digital coupons, Instacart and a Click ‘n Shop option for online shopping.

You’d ask your store which of these options it offers.

6. Stores Across State Lines

Piggly Wiggly’s FAQ on ThePig.net names store locations in South Carolina, Coastal Georgia and Watertown, New York.

The store locator lists stores in five states: Georgia, North Carolina, New York, South Carolina and Virginia.

The brand’s history page says it is an affiliate of C&S Wholesale Grocers.

Grocery Dive reported in 2021 that C&S had decades of experience supplying independent supermarkets, including 55 Piggly Wiggly locations in South Carolina and Southeast Georgia.

The locator also lists stores in cities such as Charleston, Columbia, Florence and Myrtle Beach, plus three in Sumter and two in Orangeburg.

The Pig Point$ page says the program is available at most Piggly Wiggly stores and points you to store locations for details.

Where Self-Service Began

Piggly Wiggly’s history page says founder Clarence Saunders opened the first store in Memphis in September 1916, calling it America’s first true self-service grocery store, with baskets and open shelves and no clerks to shop for the customer.

The Tennessee State Museum says the customer no longer had to give a list to a clerk.

If you’ve ever grabbed your groceries off a shelf yourself, you’re using that idea.