It may seem like par for the course to see a parking lot or city street strewn with abandoned shopping carts, but it is actually a multi-million dollar problem for retailers. It is estimated that over 2 million carts go missing each year — most of them stolen.
However, this problem is an expensive one that not only impacts retailers but also consumers. The rising prices of everyday goods — especially groceries — have been an ongoing concern for consumers, and the millions of carts that go missing each year contribute significantly to those rising prices.
Local municipalities have even attempted to tackle the problem of vanishing carts, with Fayetteville, North Carolina, recently spending over $70,000 in taxpayer dollars to round up carts over two years. Similarly, Albuquerque, New Mexico zeroed in on the missing cart problem, collecting nearly 2,000 missing carts in just two months. As the problem grows the municipalities have even begun to fine the retailers for the expense of retrieving the carts.
Each cart that goes missing from a retail store costs the retailer approximately $250. Multiply that by the millions of carts that go missing each year, and it’s easy to see how this is a massive issue that needs to be addressed.
“With over 2 million carts going missing every year, that’s over $500 million in losses,” explains Haim Heller, COO of TRACARTS — a company seeking to solve the cart problem. “Those are monumental losses that will eventually be passed to the customer if the issue is not addressed.”
The cost of missing carts
Some retailers have implemented approaches that include paying a quarter for a cart and then getting your quarter back when the cart is returned. However, Heller says this approach is ultimately ineffective in slowing the rate of missing and stolen carts.
“If you wanted a cart, would you be willing to spend or lose 25 cents for a cart that costs upwards of even $100?” Heller asks. “All the more so when the carts cost over $250.”
There is a noted psychological element to the missing cart problem. The return of carts to their parking lot corral has become a moral litmus test in recent years, yet the pressure to “be a good person” and return your cart because it is the right thing to do hasn’t made a dent in the millions of carts that go missing each year. That is not to say that the psychological part of the shopping cart problem should be ignored, though innovators such as Heller feel that it can be expanded upon.
Through a combination of technology and psychology, the TRAC system emphasizes the good feeling people get when they return a cart to its rightful place and makes the process easy with smart technology. Shoppers utilize a white label app, store loyalty card, fob, key code, or phone number to release the carts and are then reminded to return the cart after completing their shopping trip.
The TRAC system is designed to allow the retailer to incentivize the shopper to return their cart as well as to collect valuable shopper behavioral data. The data provides the retailer with invaluable insights into real time customer activity. In addition, the data has many other valuable insights that will assist retailers.
The TRAC system is designed to be installed across two parking spaces. “All that’s required from the retailer’s end is access to electricity and internet capability,” explains Heller. “The retailer can place the train into a number of configurations to suit any parking lot.”
A multi-million dollar impact
As more people become aware of the issue of missing carts, solutions like the one that TRACARTS offers will gain market demand. The issue of carts disappearing from stores is not just a money issue but a safety concern and an issue of aesthetics. Tales of carts careening down city streets, sitting in the way of drivers, and contributing to urban blight are common. Many of the missing carts are taken by the unhoused to hold and transport their possessions, and some people have even taken to stealing carts for scrap metal.
As the problem persists, more cities are enacting laws and subsequent fines to squash the cart problem. Some cities have started mandating that stores lock up their carts when not in use or install systems such as TRACARTS to combat the issue of stolen carts.
Retailers must also consider the impact the stolen cart issue has on consumers since the costs of missing carts are not only eventually passed down to consumers and taxpayers but also the issue remaining unmitigated could easily impact consumer loyalty to a store. “Cart shortage or inoperable carts results in customer frustration and leads to lost sales and loyalty,” says Heller.
Companies like TRACARTS are taking the issue of missing carts seriously and applying their vast knowledge about human behavior and technology to solve the issue once and for all. As more retailers realize that something needs to be done to properly address the problem, TRACARTS is at the forefront of innovating an industrywide solution that will mitigate millions in lost revenue, and consumers need no longer worry about the cost of missing carts trickling down and impacting their pocketbooks.
