When you add shopping carts to your store, you want to be sure that you pick products that will meet customers’ needs during their shopping experience and provide you with savings. Adding metal shopping carts to your location can help you achieve both goals. Here’s a complete guide to metal shopping carts. Learn why they are a worthwhile investment.
Why Should I Buy Metal Shopping Carts?
Although you may feel tempted to purchase plastic shopping carts for your store, metal ones can bring distinct benefits to you and your customers.
You Can Buy Metal Carts at a Lower Cost
This benefit may surprise you, but it is quite true. Because so much work goes into producing a plastic cart, purchasing one tends to cost more. However, making steel shopping carts can involve less work and materials that are less costly to the manufacturer. That benefits you by allowing you to have a fleet of durable, sturdy carts in your store at a lower cost.
You Can Fix Them More Easily
Another advantage of buying metal carts for your store is that you can fix them more easily than plastic carts. When something breaks on your plastic cart, you’ll likely find it very expensive to have it fixed, and you may much rather buy a new one.
But you can usually fix a metal cart by replacing a part or through welding so that it can be back on your floor for customers to use again. That allows you to save money and get more out of your investment in the cart, which your shoppers will continue to use for a long time.
They Catch People’s Eyes
Metal carts can even benefit you as a retailer through their appearance. When customers come into your store, their eyes will instantly look at the shine of the cart’s metal and want to use one as they shop.
Because the cart gives them ample room, they may feel tempted to pick up more items than they initially planned. This will allow you to sell more goods.
Metal Carts Weigh Less Than Plastic Ones
Adding metal carts to your store also benefits your customers because they can actually have a lower weight than plastic carts. So your shoppers will be able to exert less energy when they move the cart around your store, as opposed to a heavier plastic one.
That will make them feel better about shopping at your store. It might even make them more likely to return, since you make it easier for them with the metal cart.
What Are the Different Types of Metal Carts?
Another aspect of this guide to metal shopping carts is the types of carts available to you as a retailer. You have many options to choose from.
Heavy-Duty Shopping Cart
One option for your store is a heavy-duty, conventional shopping cart, which manufacturers make in small, medium, and large sizes. Shoppers often use these when they have more items that can fit in a shopping basket.
They may also have a toddler that they must keep an eye on during their shopping experience. Their little one can sit in the cart’s child seat while their guardian pushes them and their future purchases around the store.
Double-Basket Carts
Another model of cart that you can add to your store is a double-basket cart. As the name implies, these feature two baskets that shoppers can use for separating different products by putting them on the upper or lower tiers. These can also feature a child’s seat and fit the needs of parents who need to make a quick shopping trip while supervising their young ones.
Liquor Store Carts
You may want to acquire this model if you operate a liquor store or have a liquor section in your supermarket. These are like double-basket carts but have an open area on the lower tier. This feature will allow your customers to stack more cases of beverages while keeping their more modestly sized items in the basket on the top.
Two-Tier Carts
Another product that’s similar to a double-basket cart is a two-tier cart, which also features a basket on both levels. However, the second-tier basket has a longer length than the upper-tier, which allows customers to separate items even more. It features a child seat as well.
Children’s Carts
If your customers have children who want to assist them during their shopping trips, consider adding children’s carts to your fleet. These miniature carts will allow the kids to help their parents while they learn more about shopping for food items. It will even make the experience more fun for the young ones.
Hand-Basket Carts
When shoppers come into your store, you might see them using hand baskets instead of carts. But if they fill up two baskets and find them too hard to carry, they can get the assistance they need with a hand-basket cart. This metal cart can hold both baskets and allow the customer to push them around your store.
How Should I Clean My Metal Carts?
If you buy metal carts, you may wonder what you must do to keep them clean for the customers who visit your store. It’s best to try to wash them daily with a degreaser that will remove any grime or germs they may have acquired during the day.
Ensure your workers clean the entire cart so that they leave no parts of it dirty. After treating the carts with the degreaser, they should use a pressure washer to remove any last germs.
This step will better ensure that they fully sanitize the carts. However, before your employees return them to the front of the store, have them dry the carts so that no water drops remain. The drops can transmit germs to your customers when they use them.
Now you know the benefits of metal shopping carts and which ones are available to you. Contact Carriage Trade Service Co. about buying metal carts to add to your fleet. Our products are very durable and feature an unmatched level of quality.
