How the Humble Shopping Trolley Changed Everything

How the Humble Shopping Trolley Changed Everything There have been hundreds of inventions that have changed the world over the last decade from sliced bread to the iPhone. However, when most people consider life-changing inventions, they never care to mention the humble shopping trolley! The invention came as part of a far bigger shift in the way people shopped. In 1916, the first supermarket was launched. The concept was simple, no longer would customers have to ask the shopkeeper for individual items. It also resulted in far larger spaces for products and essentials to be showcased. It was the end of individual service and heralded in the idea of "self-service". Initially, the first supermarkets would provide wire baskets to their shoppers, much like the ones we have today. However, the wire baskets caused some issues due to their limited capacity and inability to carry large or bulky items. The invention of the shopping trolley is credited to Sylvan Goldman. Sylvan owned a supermarket in Oklahoma and instantly recognised the drawback of the wire basket, plus the obvious impact on his bottom line. Initially, Sylvan made far larger wire baskets which were even worse and very difficult to carry. It wasn’t until he experimented with adding 2 baskets to a four-wheeled cart that he had his eureka moment. After some refinements, Sylvan created the world’s first wire shopping cart. In June 1936, he trialed some of his new "shopping carts" in his Humpty Dumpty and Piggy Wiggy chain of supermarkets. Sylvan thought he had cracked it and they would be an instant hit with his struggling customers. He was wrong. It seemed people didn’t understand this new shopping aid and just ignored them in favour of the traditional wire basket. It was then that Sylvan decided not to give up and instead paid actors to walk around his store and demonstrate how to use them. After a few short weeks, people got the message and his trolleys were in constant demand. They became so successful that he patented the design and his invention is still used in virtually every country around the globe. So there you have it, the story of the humble shopping trolley.