ECONOMY & WORK
MONEY 101
NEWS
PERSONAL FINANCE
NET WORTH
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use DMCA Opt-out of personalized ads
© Copyright 2023 Market Realist. Market Realist is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.
MARKETREALIST.COM / ECONOMY & WORK

Your shopping cart says a lot about you if you return it — here's the science behind it

"The shopping cart is the ultimate litmus test for whether a person is capable of self-governing," as per a social media post.
PUBLISHED JUL 20, 2024
Cover Image Source: Markus Spiske | Unsplash
Cover Image Source: Markus Spiske | Unsplash

Your habits and actions speak more about you than words could ever. As per a theory posted by an anonymous user on a platform called 4chan, whether somebody puts their shopping cart back in its place says a whole lot about them.

"The shopping cart is the ultimate litmus test for whether a person is capable of self-governing," the user wrote in the post. 

The post also talked about the unsaid rule of returning the cart to its primary location, and added that it was the right thing to do. "Therefore, the shopping cart presents itself as the apex example of whether the person will do the right thing or not without being forced to do it," the user said.

According to the user, the management of the supermarket should have a few rules for people to keep their carts back. "The shopping cart is what determines if the person is a good or a bad member of the society," the post adds. 

Shopping Carts | Pexels | Ulrick Trappschuh
Shopping Carts | Pexels | Ulrick Trappschuh

The action should not be that difficult considering that there's always several corrals in every parking lot, so it's not like the shopper has to take a long walk to be able to put the cart back, which would be the decent thing to do, as per Columbia Star

However, not everybody seems to promote or practice this. According to Scientific American, there are some pretty common reasons that people use as excuses when it comes to taking the cart to its designated area. Many believe the receptacle is too far from the car while others say they would have to leave their kids behind if they want to do that. Some refused to do so, because it was raining, while some simply dismissed saying that it was not their job. 

The Shopping Cart Theory has been on the internet for quite sometime now and it claims that people don't do it because there is no punishment for leaving the cart next to one's auto. Shopping cart roaming loose in parking lot really infuriated this Reddit user who took to the subreddit, r/HEB to talk about the situation. 

"People many of you, who seriously need more exercise than a trip to the shopping cart cage would be one of the first ones to file some law suit against HEB or any place if something happen between your dumb a** and a shopping cart," the user writes in the post, threatening to simply lock the cart to their car if they see a loose cart roaming around.

r/Target | Reddit
r/Target | Reddit

Many took to the post to talk about the carts, "I feel appreciated now b/c I have always taken my cart to the cart corral. Always. It’s one of my better traits tbh. And if I need one I get one that’s loose. And if I don’t need one I take the closest one to the cart corral or inside whatever’s closest is how I do that one. I needed this win lol," writes one.

"I feel like this is purely a regional thing, when I first moved to Texas my husband and I noticed how people leave carts all over parking lots here. We were baffled by it. If anyone sees you leave a cart when I’m from in Maryland no one will hesitate to shame you, honk their horn at you, or actually roll down their windows and say something. It’s very much not socially acceptable up there," writes another.

 A worker collects shopping carts from the parking lot of a Walmart store on May 18, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. Walmart, the world's largest retailer, today reported first-quarter same-store sales growth that beat expectations and the company raised its full-year forecast.|Getty Images|Photo by Scott Olson
A worker collects shopping carts from the parking lot of a Walmart store. Getty Images | Photo by Scott Olson
MORE ON MARKET REALIST
Guests on the show would run with it if they ever got that kind of money on Pawn Stars.
6 hours ago
The guest even said to keep the kids in the dark about how valuable these items were.
8 hours ago
The company had fantastic sales but a crushing debt with a high interest rate that the sharks hated.
11 hours ago
It was only Carey's second season in the show and he could have been part of a massive scandal.
1 day ago
“I won’t say anything, and you know why,” he said, with a gesture to zip his lips.
1 day ago
The ring was rescued by the guest's mother thanks to a stranger early in the morning.
1 day ago
"She blanked out. It happens to the best of us," a fan sympathized with the player.
1 day ago
The instrument originally belonged to the guest's grandfather who suffered a horrific injury.
2 days ago
The contestant's wife seemed embarassed at that point of time, and worried as well.
2 days ago
The co-founders of Dino Don got the shark that they always wanted on board.
2 days ago
One can understand why the measure is in place but the shopper was having none of it.
2 days ago
"My husband and I definitely noticed it! We had to rewind it a few times," a fan reacted.
2 days ago
All of the sharks agreed that she had a great product and the drive to be successful a businesswoman.
3 days ago
It's possible that the dog played a little part in making it easier for them to get a deal.
3 days ago
Without the help of his wife, the contestant would have gone home empty-handed.
3 days ago
The pawn store owner had a valid point since the item the guest had brought had numerous issues.
3 days ago
The contestant got the first part of the puzzle right but wasn't able to solve it in time.
3 days ago
"It's a lady's robe. A robe from 1750 is a very rare robe. The only other ones I know of this type, you'd have to go to Beijing," the appraiser said.
4 days ago
Harvey also got other hilarious answers, but nothing could match the woman's sass.
4 days ago
The Gronkowski family is famous for their contributions to America's sporting culture.
4 days ago