“I turned out just fine without it” isn’t an argument no matter the subject.

For me personally, I don’t like my baby slathering his tongue along a handle touched by numerous other people (hand-to-hand-to-mouth or hand-to-object-to-mouth or mouth-to-object contact being a major cause of illness), not to mention rust, dried gum and any number of unidentifiable goey stains that may be within reach of my infant’s mouth or hand (then mouth). A good cart cover also comes with padding for the few times the kid slams his head face-forward into the metal handle. And it should have a pocket where you store snacks, a sippy and whatnot.

My kid gets his healthy dose of germs from plenty of other sources, just not from a shopping cart.