Shopping cart

A shopping cart (also called a buggy, or a trolley in British English; sometimes referred to as a carriage or shopping carriage in the U.S. region of New England; also known as a bascart in some regions of the U.S.) is a cart supplied by a shop, especially a supermarket, for use by customers inside the shop for transport of merchandise to the check-out counter, and, after paying, often also to the car on the parking lot. Often, customers are allowed to leave the carts in the car park, and store personnel return the carts to the shop.

Related Topics:
British English - U.S. - New England - Cart - Shop - Supermarket - Transport - Check-out counter - Car - Parking

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Sometimes the customer has to pay a small deposit by inserting a coin, which is returned if and when the customer returns the cart to a designated cart parking point. Some retailers sell "trolley tokens" as an alternative to coins, often for charity. The mechanism can often be unlocked by inserting a key into the slot to open the lock.

Related Topics:
Deposit - Coin

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This is also done for profit with luggage carts at many airports, where companies like Smarte Carte charge two or more dollars (US) (or equivalent) for rental, and return a small token reward of a quarter (25 ¢) for returning carts to the other end of any dispenser machine.

Related Topics:
Profit - Luggage - Airport - Companies - Smarte Carte - Dollars (US) - Rent - Reward - ¢ - Dispenser - Machine

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Most shopping carts are made of metal or plastic and designed to nest within each other in a line to facilitate moving many at one time, and to save on storage space. The carts can come in many sizes, with larger ones able to carry a child. There are also specialized carts designed for two children, and electric scooters with baskets designed for disabled customers. Some stores even have novelty carts that look like a car or van with a large boot (called a "trunk" in the US and Canada) where a child can sit in the seat while shopping. such "Car-Carts" as some people call them in the cart business, find that they are less moveable and unable to stack and compile with other carts making them more of a hassle then they may be worth.

Related Topics:
Scooter - Canada

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Shopping carts are fitted with four castor wheels, which can point in any direction to allow easy manoeuvring. However, when any one of the wheels jams, the cart becomes extremely difficult to handle. Note that some carts only have swivel castor wheels on the front, while the rear ones are locked. This presumably improves the steering life of the cart, at the expense of maneuverability.

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Often there is the problem of theft of shopping carts by pedestrian customers who use them to carry groceries all the way home. One solution is to set up an electric perimeter around the parking lot. Each cart can then be outfitted with a device that disables a wheel when the perimeter is crossed. Sometimes shopping carts are physically prevented from even leaving the shop, but that is mainly a solution if few customers come by car. Retailers report more than 800 million dollars (US) of missing carts in the U.S. alone each year. Once taken from the store, carts frequently end up in hedges or streams. Also, they are often used by urban homeless people to carry their belongings. There have been many stories of people rescuing stolen carts as a hobby. Some shops have phone numbers for people to report stolen carts so they can be recovered.

Related Topics:
Theft - Pedestrian - Parking lot - Retail - Dollars (US) - Homeless people

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An alternative to the shopping cart is a small handheld shopping basket. A customer can often choose between a cart and a basket, and may prefer a basket if the amount of merchandise is small. Small shops, where carts would be impractical, often supply only baskets.

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