Groceteria.com

For whatever reason, I was thinking about shopping carts (or baskets, buggies, etc.) and how they've changed. Lord knows how many variations there are of carts, and it seems to me that the way they are used by shoppers has changed a lot over the years.

As far as design is concerned, I remember when your basic cart was narrower and had a higher center of gravity, in fact, I vividly remember when I managed to flip one onto its side in the local Colonial store while I was still seated in the kiddie seat.

I also remember when it was sort of rare to see a cart out in the parking lot, as stores had parcel pickup that was actually used by people (with a bell signal so someone could come out and load your groceries in your car). It seems to me that at the stores that still have a marked parcel pickup zone it's rarely used for its intended purpose.

I also recall some stores that had barriers so that you couldn't take a cart out into the lot, but I don't recall which ones had them around here.

The idea of having cart corrals in the parking lot is a sort of foreign idea to many Richmond grocery shoppers, as Ukrop's has always carried bags out to the shopper's vehicle and as a result has no marked parcel pickup or cart corrals. When did cart corrals come about? I really don't remember seeing any anywhere until the late 1970's.

As far as controlling shopping cart loss, the local retail merchants association will have a publicity campaign from time to time when it seems that the problem has gotten worse reminding people that under VIrginia law, taking a shopping cart off of store premises is a felony (grand larceny if the cart is worth more than $100).

On the other hand, I visited a relative's place on Hilton Head Island last summer that is in a condo complex within easy walking distance of a Bi-Lo store (near Coligny Circle). I was struck by the fact that it's common practice to just take your groceries back to your condo in the cart. There seem to be Bi-Lo shopping carts tucked away in groups of two or three everywhere within a half mile of the store. However, no one seems to care too much - Bi-Lo not only has plenty of carts at their store, but in the back of the store by the loading dock, they must have twice as many more carts than they have at the front of the store.

Hadn't thought about parcel pick-up in ages. The last time I remember using it was at Russo's Stop-n-Shop in Cleveland Heights, Ohio in the 80s. Parcel pick-up had already died out at the major chains (sometime in the late 60s), but independents like Russo's, as well as the upscale Heinen's chain still did it. I've lived in a variety of places since the late 90s--small towns, large cities (including DC, Atlanta, & Chicago), and no one, in any of those places, had parcel pick-up. There was a HG Hill in Nashville that took your cart to your car, but they only seemed to do that at one location.

The barriers to prevent carts from going into parking lots often sometimes were used in places that didn't have parcel pick-up. A Kroger at Great Lake Mall in Mentor, Ohio was like this even though there was hug parking lot and no nearby apartments, etc. to which people might use the carts. The barriers often have been used in densely built-up urban neighborhoods, to discourage people from using them to take home groceries., although the use of these barriers in city areas is less common than it once was.

The first time I noticed corrals was in the late 70s. Because of the "baby bust", there began to be a shortage of labor in many areas for stores and chains always have viewed "labor scheduling" as a controllable expense (i.e., they cut hours often w/o consideration of customer service), cheapness and difficulty getting "good help" probably led to the corrals.

Publix never had cart corrals until the last 4-5 years. Their policy was carryout for all orders. This is still their stated policy, but it is seldom the norm in many of their newer markets...probably because the customers are not used to the service. Some of the stores have added cart corrals, but many still don't have them.

Dooney

Iowa's Fareway still takes groceries out to customer's cars. Carts simply don't leave the inside of the store without a courtesy clerk, who promptly returns the cart inside.

Both Hy-Vee and Dahl's have parcel pick-up today, though Hy-Vee also has cart corrals around their lots if customers choose to take their cart to their cars themselves.

Aldi uses a deposit system. All carts are stored in two corrals immediately outside the store entrance. If you want a cart, you have to deposit a quarter into a "key" in the cart, which releases it from the attached cart in the corral (the next one in line). When you return the cart to the corral, you pop the hanging key on the adjacent cart into yours, and your quarter pops back out to you.

Customers often skip the trip from the car to the corral by simply swapping their cart to an arriving customer for their quarter.

So much for taking shopping carts from the Bi-Lo on Hilton Head Island.

http://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/ ... 4675c.html

I don't blame them for wanting to control their carts, but I've never seen anyone looking askance at anyone pushing one of their carts down the street, and I've pushed them right along side police cars without a word being said. Then again, I always bring the carts back.

Excellent move!!!

Publix did this in Miami at a store I worked at. Very effective and NO loss of business.

Those shopping carts are very expensive (minimum price I have seen is $150.00 each).

Most municipalities have laws that make it illegal to remove carts from retailer's property (though rarely enforced).

Wegmans still has a parcel pickup/grocery loading program at all their stores. Even their newest stores are built with a seperate drive up lane, so a person can pull up and a person on the "helping hands" team will load them in your car, or they are allowed to take the groceries right to where the person is parked. I really don't see too many people use this service though except people that are physically impared.