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The grocery cart, now a retail standard, originally looked nothing like it does today. Let me explain. In 1936, Sylvan Goldman and a young mechanic named Fred Young invented the first commercial grocery cart. It was humble at first, but the pair’s invention went on to change the retail world forever.
The First Cart
In 1934, Goldman bought the grocery chains Piggly Wiggly and Humpty-Dumpty, both based in Oklahoma City. Around this time, shoppers were buying new, heavier kinds of products but still using hand baskets to carry them. The increase in canned goods and refrigerated items inspired Goldman to make shopping easier for his customers. He grabbed his handyman, Fred Young and a few supplies, and the two spent a night coming up with a prototype of a rolling grocery basket.
At first, Goldman’s plan didn’t succeed. Women compared the cart to a baby stroller and refused to push the cart while they shopped. “I’ve pushed my last baby buggy,” they told him. Men were offended at the idea that they could not carry all their groceries around the store, and worried that the carts made them seem weak. Still, Goldman persevered.
He hired young women to model the carts and push them around his supermarkets, demonstrating their utility. This strategy immediately converted a few people. He then recruited male and female actors of all ages to advertise his grocery carts, and suddenly his stores were filled with happy shoppers unburdened by their groceries. Goldman began selling his carts to competitors and quickly turned his former folding chairs into a booming business.
To be continued next week…
Everything else is just history
