A shop, particularly in a supermarket, supplies the shopping cart or shopping carriage or buggy or trolley or basket. It is used by the customers within the shop for the transportation of the products to the checkout counter. After paying for their goods, the customer take the shopping cart to the parking lot where he or she transfers their goods from the cart to their car. The store personnel return with the cart after the customer leaves the parking area. Sylvan Goldman introduced the first shopping cart on 4th June 1937. It was based on the design of a wooden folded chair. Goldman, with the assistance of one Fred Young, built the shopping cart with a metal frame. Wheels and wire baskets were added to it. Gradually, modifications to the original blueprint were made. The basket size of the shopping carts have increased considerably since then.
Nowadays, most shopping carts are constituted of metal and plastic. These carts come in various sizes, the larger ones with room to carry a child. The electric mobility scooters with baskets are specifically made for disabled customers. Some carts have rotating castor wheels on the front whereas the rear ones are locked. For those only wishing to purchase a few items, small, hand held shopping baskets are the alternative to shopping carts. In the United States, shopping carts cost on average between $75 and $100. Sometimes, the customer has to pay a small amount of deposit as rental charge of the shopping cart. The deposit is returned when the customer hands over the cart to the shopping personnel. Companies like Smarte Carte take $2 or more for rental and return a small token payment of a quarter for returning carts to the other end of the vending machine.
As shopping carts also invite shopping thieves, theft deterrent systems are gaining acceptability in many shopping centers. An electronic locking wheel or boot is fixed with each shopping cart. When the cart is rolled out of the ‘green zone’ into the ‘red zone’, one of the wheels gets locked. When the transmission line offers a low power FM frequency, the boot gets locked. In the region of the radius of the parking lot, a transmitter with a thin wire is placed. This wire has an effectual range for broadcasting. For unlocking the cartwheels, a remote is used that broadcasts a certain frequency. Generally a yellow line is placed several feet in front of the broadcast range. It warns the customers that their cart will stop suddenly, if the cart is rolled over the yellow line. Be warned! |
