The first shopping carts were invented in 1937 by Sylvan Goldman, owner of Piggly Wiggly Supermarkets, to make shopping easier for customers. Initially, shoppers were hesitant to use them, but with the help of models and advertising, they became popular. Goldman continued to improve the design and formed the Folding Basket Carrier Co. to produce the “nest cart.” He received royalties on all shopping carts sold until his patent expired in 1961. Today, approximately 1.25 million new shopping carts are produced each year in the United States.
It’s hard to imagine a trip to the supermarket without the ubiquitous metal shopping trolleys. Shoppers load, push and fight to steer the shopping carts. Shopping carts are scattered around the parking lots and lined up outside the shops. However, when shopping carts first came out, they weren’t readily accepted.
Sylvan Goldman, the owner of Piggly Wiggly Supermarkets in Oklahoma City, noticed that his customers had to struggle to carry their heavy shopping baskets by hand. He wanted to make shopping easier for his customers, so they bought more. In 1937, he and his mechanic friend, Fred Young, assembled folding chairs on wheels and placed the grocery basket on the seat of the chairs. This was the first of all shopping carts.
Goldman’s customers generally did not accept shopping carts immediately. Everyone seemed to have a problem with them; elders didn’t want to appear helpless, women didn’t want to appear inelegant, and men didn’t want to appear weak. Models were hired by Goldman to pretend to shop, using shopping carts. These models were both female and male, across the entire age spectrum. She also hired a store concierge to explain to interested customers exactly how the shopping carts worked. Advertisements emphasized the benefits of not having to carry heavy shopping baskets or balance items precariously in small baskets.
By the end of the year, Goldman was producing shopping carts. These proved very popular and in 1940 he had a 7 year waiting list for his shopping carts. He called these shopping trolleys “folding basket holders”. They consisted of a metal frame with wheels and handles, which could fold. The hand baskets can be placed on the frame and removed upon check out. These early shopping carts had to be assembled before each use.
Goldman continued to improve its shopping carts and, in 1947, formed the Folding Basket Carrier Co. to produce the “nest cart.” This type of trolley has been designed to be stored easily by nesting one inside the other. A decade later, there were many varieties of the nest cart.
Goldman received royalties on all shopping carts sold until his patent expired in 1961. He became a multi-millionaire with his idea that allowed people an easier way to shop. Approximately 1.25 million new shopping carts are produced each year in the United States alone.
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