Why Don’t People Return Their Shopping Carts? A (Somewhat) Scientific Investigation

Behavioral Scientist ^ | 19 Nov, 2025 | Hannah B. Waldfogel

[MtnClimber]

I have seen many vehicles damaged by shopping carts, including mine.

[Engraved-on-His-hands]

I think that self-centeredness is the basic and biggest issue.

[BipolarBob]

It’s a pet peeve of mine. I’ll grab carts to take into the store. Aldis has the quarter deposit thing going on and that helps a lot.

[Paladin2]

Best to park uphill and upwind……

[GSWarrior]

I always return the shopping cart to the collection area. It’s called being courteous.

[Justa]

Very long article justifying taking jobs away from low income ppl during the holidays.

What’s their next target, the store greeters?

[equaviator]

It’s like tossing an empty beer can onto somebody’s lawn because you know they’ll pick it up in the morning, regardless of whether or not it’s worth 5 or 10 cents as a returnable.

[TokarevM57]

.....I spoke with someone who left a car literally steps away from a cart return corrall or whatever they are called...the reason...? a common four-letter word.....L.A.Z.Y. .......

[pnz1]

Yep, lazy. We usually end up grabbing a cart in the parking lot and rolling it into store when we shop.

[Jamestown1630]

i’ve never seen loose shopping carts outside an Aldi. Apparently even a quarter is more important to people than good manners...

[tired&retired]

Aldi’s solved that problem with a 25 cent charge that is refunded when you return the cart.

[DallasBiff]

It’s a pet peeve of mine. I’ll grab carts to take into the store. Aldis has the quarter deposit thing going on and that helps a lot.

I made a dollar returning the carts at Aldi's.

[Magnum44]

[Joe 6-pack]

"Since then, for reasons I can’t fully explain, people’s failure to return their carts bothers me more than it probably should..."

I'm with the writer. The failure to return a cart is an expression of self-importance, laziness and utter lack of respect for the store employees who have to wrangle the carts and to other customers whose vehicles the stray carts may damage.

It's not a huge ordeal to return a cart, and if you're smart, when you're looking to park, just look for a space near a cart return, knowing you'll be inevitably using one once you've loaded your groceries into your vehicle.

[tired&retired]

My complaint is that they never have cart return stations near the handicapped parking spaces.

[sjmjax]

I always return mine to the corral. Even if it’s raining.

It’s a small thing.
But simple actions like abandoning your cart randomly says a great deal about an individual.

It’s often said, character is demonstrated by what you do when no one is watching.

[dfwgator]

i’ve never seen loose shopping carts outside an Aldi. Apparently even a quarter is more important to people than good manners...

---

Unlike the Detroit Lions defense, at Aldi’s you actually can get a quarter back.

[Blurb2350]

Some months back my local Wally World removed all of the farthest-out cart racks from their mammoth parking lot. The rate of cart abandonment sky-rocketed, with carts drifting all over the far reaches of the lot. Then a couple of weeks ago they relented and replaced the rural cart racks. Abandonments went way down. There have to be enough cart racks that customers don’t have to hike a quarter-mile to do the right thing. There must be some sort of sweet spot. Perhaps that could be the author’s next research project. He could even apply for a grant from a big-box store.

[tired&retired]

After losing a lung to cancer it is difficult to return the cart. I usually part near a cart in the parking lot and use it like a walker to get to the store. If I return the cart it is difficult getting back to my car.