Design
Almost all 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 inmany sizes, with larger ones able to carry a child. There are also specialized carts designed for two children, and electric mobility scooters with baskets designed for disabled customers. 24,000children are injured each year in shopping carts according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Some stores have child carts that look like a car or van with a seat where a child can sit. Such"Car-Carts" or "Beans", as some call them in the cart business, may offer protection and convenience by keeping the child restrained, lower to the ground, protected from falling items, andamused.
Shopping carts are usually fitted with four caster wheels which can point in any direction to allow maneuvering. However, when any one wheel jams, the cart can become difficult to handle. Manycarts only have swivel caster wheels on the front, while the rear ones are on a fixed axle.
An alternative to the shopping cart is a small handheld shopping basket. A customer may prefer a basket for a small amount of merchandise. Small shops, where carts would be impractical, oftensupply only baskets. A collapsible utility cart has a basket pivotally mounted to a forward facing, C-shaped cart frame. As the lower portion of the C-shaped cart frame is moved under a flat bed(station wagon, etc), the upper part containing the basket slides onto the truck bed. The frame is then pivoted upward around the truck bumper and about the basket and conveniently stored around thebasket. U.S. Patent 5,503,424 details this invention, which is marketed as Autocarts.
Often there is the problem of theft of shopping carts by pedestrian customers who use them to carry items home. See Theft Prevention below.
History
Although recent historical investigations have provided evidence of multiple innovations and controversies between early contributors to the invention of the shopping cart, it is usuallyconsidered that the "first" shopping cart was introduced on June 4, 1937, the invention of Sylvan Goldman, owner of the Humpty Dumpty supermarket chain in Oklahoma City. With the assistance of FredYoung, a mechanic, Goldman constructed the first shopping cart, basing his design on that of a wooden folding chair. They built it with a metal frame and added wheels and wire baskets. Anothermechanic, Arthur Kosted, developed a method to mass produce the carts by inventing an assembly line capable of forming and welding the wire. The cart was awarded patent number 2,196,914 on April 9,1940 (Filing date: March 14, 1938), titled, "Folding Basket Carriage for Self-Service Stores". They advertised the invention as part of a new “No Basket Carrying Plan.”
The invention did not catch on immediately. Men found them effeminate; women found them suggestive of a baby carriage. "I've pushed my last baby buggy," an offended woman informed him. Afterhiring several male and female models to push his new invention around his store and demonstrate their utility, as well as greeters to explain their use, shopping carts became extremely popular andGoldman became a multimillionaire. Goldman continued to make modifications to his original design, and the basket size of the shopping cart increased as stores realized that their customers purchasedmore as its size increased. Today, most big-box stores and supermarkets have shopping carts for the convenience of the shoppers.
Rental
In many countries, 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. The motivationbehind the deposit systems is not theft deterrent since the trolley is worth significantly more than the deposit, however through this fee the retailer seeks to reduce the expense of their employeeshaving to gather the carts that were not returned, and to avoid damages by runaway trolleys.
Although common in Europe, the deposit system has not been widely adopted in the United States, with the exception of some chains like Aldi, who require a $0.25 deposit.
The deposit varies, but usually coins of higher value, such as €1 or £1 are used. While the deposit systems usually are designed to accommodate a certain size of domestic coin, foreigncoins, former currencies (like DM coins) or even appropriately folded pieces of cardboard can be used to unlock the trolleys as well.
Some retailers sell "trolley tokens" as an alternative to coins, often for charity. A system similar to the shopping trolley deposit is also used for profit with luggage carts at many airports,where companies like Smarte Carte charge two or more dollars (U.S.) (or equivalent) for rental, and return a small token reward of a quarter (25 ¢) for returning carts to the other end of anydispenser machine.
