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

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

[cva66snipe]

I don’t want my food picked for me neither. I want to see what I am getting including expiration dates. The self checkout is an issue I am early stage Parkinsons {hand tremors} and it causes multiple scans and I have to wait until someone takes the overring off.

[Organic Panic]

The larger store in Germany have a coin based cart. You had to put in a 2 euro coin in a chain which unlocked it, then when you brought it back and chained it to the other cart you got your coin back. Very effective.

Of course, if they did something like that here they would cry “that’s rayciss” because homeless people couldn’t steal them.

[HannagansBride]

Simple.

Calculate how much it costs the store to retrieve carts from the parking lot.

Offer customers who enter with a cart a chit for $X amount to be redeemed at checkout.

Problem solved(... or at least lessened?)

[TBP]

I always return it.

[TBP]

I always return it.

[central_va]

If you see a floater in the parking lot just use it yourself and push it into the store.

[central_va]

I steal the carts and sell them to the homeless. Yep I’m the guy.

[SisterK]

I also grab stray carts outside to push in to the store because the sun and fresh air help sterilize the carts. No other reason.

And when done shopping I return the cart to a corral because we have no flat parking lots here and the buggers want to roll away and wreck into vehicles.

[Seruzawa]

A PhD on sickology is guaranteed to make you crazy.

[x]

I’m pretty sure that’s only delinquents and the homeless.

Some stores have a thing-a-ma-jig attached to the wheels to prevent you from taking the cart out of the parking lot, but that’s only in dodgy urban areas,

[Justa]

“Please don’t return carts from handicap parking spaces...yes, don’t. I need a cart there to use for a walker so I can get into the store. I always leave mine there against the post for the next person to use, and am grateful when someone left it for me.”

Exactly what I do for the same reason. I have to steady myself before walking. Having a cart to grab hold of when I exit the car is very helpful and a relief.

[Jane Long]

It was “Safety Patrol” at our school 😂

[clearcarbon]

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

I do the same, but not before setting my walking cane in the cart.

[billphx]

I’ve noticed that as well.... does not make sense

[Horkster]

I’ve long joked with my beloved wife that my ultimate dream retirement job is to be a cart wrangler at a local ALDI’s. Not only do I get healthy exercise, while providing a valuable service, and maybe saving expensive car damage, I get a bonus of $0.25 per cart (a quarter, which used to be almost solid silver) for all the stray carts I wrangle, for the people stupid at math, or stupid at directions.