‘I was so confused’ first time Aldi shopper admits after facing costly cart dilemma – and Walmart is following suit

A SHOPPER was left stunned when she made a discovery at her local Aldi which means she will always keep spare change.

While businesses are turning to new technology to make improvements across their stores, others are going to more traditional methods seen in retailers across Europe.

German supermarket chain Aldi has stunned some shoppers after installing devices on shopping carts across several stores that require payment before use.

"My first time shopping at Aldi and I feel like I’m in a simulation lol insert a quarter for a shopping cart? I was so confused," Facebook user Shyanne Creason said in a post.

"I don’t typically carry around change so I was like WTF," Creason said.

While she was "impressed" with the store, "the quarter thing was different," the shopper added.

"It’s a way to get people to return the carts where they’re supposed to go once it’s returned they give back the quarter," another shopper replied.

Forcing customers to return shopping carts has two key benefits for retailers.

One is to prevent theft of carts themselves and any items inside, and the other stops stores from being fined by cities when abandoned carts are located elsewhere, causing hazards and eyesores for the community.

In 2022, Walmart was charged $23,000 by a city board in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, for the recovery of abandoned shopping carts, per a CNN report.

"According to the Food Marketing Institute in Washington DC, annual costs due to cart theft is around $800 million," Good L Corp, a US shopping carts and baskets manufacturer, said.

It added that shopping carts are "integral to store profits," making it a logical decision that retailers will do their utmost to protect them.

After receiving fines and wanting to crack down on financial losses, last year, at least three Walmart stores also introduced coin-operated shopping carts.

The outlets in Thunder Bay, Canada, demand customers insert a $1 coin to use the carts.

The money is returned when the shopper puts the cart back and inserts a chain into the device, securely locking the cart in the correct place.

Walmart has been contacted for comment on the future use of these devices in the US.

Meanwhile, some Costco shoppers have even urged the retailer to introduce the coin devices as members complain about abandoned carts causing damage in the parking lots.

While such coin-operated carts are not widely used by other major retailers, similar shopping cart changes are slowly being rolled out, taking shoppers by surprise.

Shopping cart complaints

Here are just some of the recent complaints shoppers have had about carts across numerous retailers:

• Target shoppers have said they are moving towards Walmart after noticing a lack of shopping carts as they call on the retailer to "do better."
• Kroger has been slammed for its "bottomless" carts that one customer says make shopping "impossible."
• Walmart's recent shopping cart design change has seen customers rage about the new size.
• Several upgrades have been made by Walmart but short customers are not happy.
• Meijer's anti-theft cart device left one shopper stunned.

Kroger and Walmart are just a few retailers that are turning to new anti-cart theft technology that locks the wheels of carts at certain areas of store property.

However, one Walmart shopper called it the retailer's "stupidest idea ever" after the boundaries set out for the cart's wheels prevented her from getting her shopping to her vehicle.

Meanwhile, a Kroger shopper said that as a result of the spontaneous wheel-locking he is reconsidering his loyalty to the retailer.

"I have half a mind not to go there again. I have other options nearby," he said on Facebook after realizing it was part of the store's anti-theft measures.

"I thought the cart just had a malfunction, but once I realized they did it on purpose I was p*****!" he wrote.