Most of us have at some point in our life tangled with an errant shopping cart in a parking lot. Depending on the store, there are sometimes more carts in the lot than cars. Stores, thinking the public will be considerate, place seldom used cart returns throughout the parking lot.
We have either had a cart dent our car or block that perfect parking spot. Who knows how much damage these carts cost automobile owners and their insurance companies? We do know from studies that the retail industry estimates that theft and vandalism of shopping carts cost the industry hundreds of millions of dollars per year.
But one store found a solution. Have you ever been to an Aldi’s Grocery store? If you have, you’ll notice their lots are free from those pesky shopping carts. If you’re not aware of the store, you are probably thinking they are one of those grocery stores that have barriers preventing the carts from leaving the front of the store. You would be wrong. They use the power of the quarter! To be able to acquire a cart at an Aldi’s you must put a quarter in a slot in the handle to unlock the cart. To get your quarter back, you must return the cart to the store and lock it back with the rest.
Even if you don’t care about your quarter, your cart won’t stay in the parking lot long because another customer will quickly grab that cart as their own. Think about it. Changing behavior with a quarter. What a simple solution to a costly and irritating problem.
What’s your shopping cart? And what’s your quarter solution?