Shopping Cart Cost
Last Updated on July 28, 2021 | Written by CPA Alec Pow
First Published on March 24, 2021 | Content Reviewed by 
CFA Alexander Popivker
A grocery cart, also known as a shopping basket or trolley car in the U.K., is a typical staple that can be found in supermarkets all around the world. It can give customers convenience while shopping. Regardless of the number of products you’re trying to buy, the grocery cart, as you most likely already know, enables you to bring and carry these products quickly all around the shop.
Just how much does a shopping cart cost?
The price of a shopping cart will depend upon its size, materials it’s made from, the business producing it, and where the shopping carts are bought from. Typically, shopping carts can cost anywhere from $90 to as much as $200 per cart. If the cart were to come with technology that locks the wheel of the cart once it goes outside the set boundary, then the expenses can usually double.
According to Wikipedia, the typical cart can cost $75 to $150, and shopping cart theft is approximated to be in the $800 million range every year. Keep in mind that Wikipedia is a free-contributor platform, so it shouldn’t be taken as a know-it-all source.
One LA Times short article claims that supermarkets lose 12 percent of their carts every year, and to change one, it can cost approximately $75 to $125 for merchants such as Walmart.
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A smaller-sized alcohol shop shopping cart, for example, can be acquired for $160 to $195, while a special double basket cart can cost $130 to $195. A medium or big-sized shopping cart, the cart you typically see at a supermarket, can cost $130 to $210.
For instance, the Carriage Trade Service Company has shopping carts that can be bought wholesale. At this store, according to their official website, smaller plastic shopping carts of differing designs and sizes have a cost anywhere from $130 to $170 per piece. For a medium to plus size plastic shopping cart, the expense would be $185 to $193 per cart.
WebstaurantStore.com, another online merchant, will only offer one sort of shopping cart for about $100.
| Type of Shopping Cart | Average Price |
|---|---|
| Liquor Store Cart | $135 to $195 |
| Double Basket Cart | $160 to $220 |
| Smaller Metal Cart | $160 to $220 |
| Heavy Duty Small/Medium/Large Cart | $135 to $195 |
| Extra Large Cart | $160 to $220 |
Keep in mind that the majority of the merchants we were able to find online did provide a bulk discount rate of approximately 10-20 percent if you were to buy more than 10 at the same time.
Shopping cart details
Shopping carts can be made from metal, plastic, or can be a mix of the 2.
A shopping cart includes a number of parts. This also includes the main body in which the bulk of the products can be put. A few of them even have a little collapsible basket in case consumers wish to separate particular kinds of grocery products and even have where to put a child. Most significantly, shopping carts have 4 wheels, with 2 that rotate in the front, making it easier for them to be pushed around.
What are the additional expenses?
Shopping carts can get broken due to extensive usage, having the store either pay a service fee or getting a brand-new one.
For customization and branding, shopping parts can also have logo designs set up on them.
Tips to keep in mind
Why is the cart so pricey? According to one Science Channel video, it is because of the 75 yards of galvanized steel covered in Teflon that will be able to endure crashes at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour.
How can you save some money?
Purchasing bulk typically brings the cost down per cart.
There are secondhand shopping carts for sale which can cut the cost of the product by over half in some scenarios. These second-hand shopping carts can be bought on Craigslist, or going out of business sales or regional ads.
Larger shops might have the ability to balance out the expenses by adding regional marketing to the cart.
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So the membership required stores, Sam’s Club, Costco, etc. provide bigger carts because customers often buy in bulk. Customers can either capture a cart on the way in from the parking lot, or get one once they flash their membership card at the door. Seems to work for them. There’s a solution to this lurking out there someplace just waiting for a clever person/company to implement it.