Where do Stolen Carts Go?

Its easy to see carts under a highway underpass or in an encampment of unhoused people and believe that is where all your stolen carts go. This is not true.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development conducts an annual survey of the US Homeless Population – both sheltered and unsheltered. The population in 2023 was 653,104 people. The counting method is prone to inaccuracy due to the difficulty with counting people in known public gathering places. However, even if off by 50% (which would be a lot), this means there are still one million more carts stolen every year than the entire US Homeless Population.

Your carts are not going to encampments. Yes, some of them are – but that is not the source of a rampant cart theft issue. So…where are all these stolen carts going? Fortunately, we have tracked carts throughout most major US cities. Depending on the store and the area its in, some of these locations will be more popular destinations for your carts than others. To learn exactly where your carts are going, check out Store Technology Group’s QuickTrack Solution. Keep reading for a rundown of the common cart hotspots:

Schools

Even if no campus housing is present, these are common destinations for stolen carts. This applies to both college and high school campuses. If any campus housing is present, that's a big contributor but many students don't drive or have a car - so carts are a common means of getting stuff home. 

Senior Living/Care Homes

If your stores are nearby any of these facilities, there is a good chance your two-tier/express carts are there. These carts are commonly used as walkers and repeatedly come back with their shoppers to these facilities.

Nearby Construction Sites

This was only caught due to tracking technology. Construction crews at your store, or those working on a nearby site, will commonly visit to buy meals and beverages for the crew – take the cart back with them and then use it on the job site. This can happen daily so it will not take long before many of your carts are on construction duty if you are near work zones.

Hotels and Multi-Unit Dwellings

Out of town visitors often don’t have a car for transportation…so the carts at your store are popular substitutes. This is also a common problem with condominiums or multi-unit housing. Many people who live or stay in these types of locations rely on carts to transport purchases home. These are often the “known” locations for stolen carts by your store teams. Some retailers have used their tracking data to monitor the history/frequency of cart visits to these hotels/apartments/condos. This history can be used to convince those business to help you solve the problem or create an easy case for authorities to get involved.

Abandoned/Vacant Homes

Many stolen carts “hop” between various residential homes. These can be abandoned homes, tenant spaces within homes or squatters. Normally, other illicit activity is happening at these locations. Some of these homes are temporary holding areas for stolen goods and often the cart capers are in the home illegally. Knowing your carts are going to these locations can help you get authorities involved since it likely involves criminal activity beyond pure cart theft.

Illicit Warehouses

Similar to abandoned homes, carts are often found at warehouses for storing stolen goods. Many times, this is linked to wider retail theft. This problem is particularly common in port cities.

Municipal Recycling and Collection Sites

Scrap yards, municipal collection centers and city/county recycling facilities all collect carts. Many government operated sites charge a fee when they collect carts but that’s only if it’s a dedicated cart collection service. We have found that many garbage collection and recycling collection services sweep carts off the streets and rarely – if ever – report it. Scrap yards are also common destinations for carts – especially metal wire versions. While its not advertised, both tracking data and field research has revealed scrappers OFTEN collect stolen carts for scrap.

Knowing where your carts are going and how you can collect them is a prerequisite for solving the shopping cart theft problem. If you want to learn more about how IoT solutions, like QuickTrack, can help you address a longstanding problem for the retail industry, just fill out the form below.