When a customer arrives at your supermarket, the first thing they look for is where the shopping carts are. Supermarkets have been using these handy carts for years and your visitors automatically expect to find a shopping cart when they go to do their daily shopping.
The shopping cart; it seems like such a simple product. Actually, it is a large metal and/or plastic cart. Nevertheless, a shopping cart has to meet a lot of requirements. Not only the legal requirements for safety but also the wishes of the customer are translated into the modern shopping cart. Consider the child seat. The first shopping carts did not have this but it soon became apparent that putting small children in a shopping cart could lead to dangerous situations. And…left less room for groceries. Precisely the space for (more) groceries was once the main goal of the shopping cart designs.
A shopping cart should not take up too much space so that the shopping area is used optimally. That is why in 1946 Orla Watson came up with the interlocking shopping cart and it is a development that all supermarkets still use today. The shopping cart is one of the most successful marketing innovations of the 20th century! Today, shopping carts are a staple in your supermarket.
The best innovations are the ones with win-win for both parties. You also notice that your customer buys more with a shopping cart than when they use a basket. You are happy with the sales and the customer is happy with not having to carry heavy bags and boxes full of groceries while shopping.
Yet, for all the best innovations, there are unfortunately drawbacks. The shopping carts are not only used for shopping but these are also taken home for private use. This means that you have to buy quite a few new shopping carts every year to maximize sales and keep customers happy. Also the neighbours of your store are satisfied when they do not find shopping carts lying around. Despite having these drawbacks, this innovation is used as a great inspiration.
Not only the store owner and customers are happy with this innovation, but also many artists have been inspired by shopping carts over the years. For example, books have been written about them, they appear in movies, and Neil Young’s 1994 music album “Sleeps with Angels” features the track “Safeway Cart.”
British artist Bansky became world famous for selling a painting for €1.2 million at a Sotheby’s auction on October 5, 2018, which automatically shredded after the sale. Bansky also took inspiration from the shopping cart as his painting “Show me the Monet” shows. At the Edgemar Shopping Mall in Santa Monica, California, artist Anthony Schmidt has created a Christmas tree out of shopping carts every year since 1995.
Many may not even know they have a shopping cart theft problem because most Loss Prevention executives never see financial loss information regarding shopping carts. Find out what the real impact of shopping cart loss is and how it affects your sales.
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