Who invented the shopping cart in 1937 to boost supermarket sales?

Sylvan Goldman invented the shopping cart in 1937 to boost supermarket sales. Goldman owned the Humpty Dumpty supermarket chain in Oklahoma and introduced his invention on June 4, 1937.

The original cart grew from a practical observation: shoppers carrying hand baskets often stopped buying once those baskets became heavy. Goldman adapted a folding wooden chair, adding wheels, a metal frame, and wire baskets. Mechanic Fred Young helped develop the design, while Arthur Kosted later devised a way to manufacture the wire baskets efficiently.

Goldman initially called the device a “folding basket carrier” and promoted it through demonstrations in his stores. Customers were not immediately enthusiastic; some men considered carts unmasculine, while some women compared them to baby carriages. Demonstrations by male and female models helped normalize the idea.

A common mix-up is crediting Goldman with the exact nesting cart used today. In 1946, Orla Watson developed the swinging rear door that allowed carts to telescope together. Goldman later produced a nesting version under license. Goldman’s original breakthrough, however, was the wheeled basket carrier that changed self-service grocery shopping.