Why do People Steal Carts?

More than 2 million carts are stolen every year. It’s easy to look under a highway overpass with a collection of shopping carts and shelters and label that as the source of a cart theft problem. In 2019 and 2020, Bemis Retail Solutions tested this theory by tracking carts throughout the city of Portland for a local grocer.

The grocer lost an entire fleet of carts every year; around 100-120 carts. During the test, shopping carts were stolen for a variety of reasons but they almost always left the store in the hands of normal shoppers. Based on this extensive test and data from FMI and other sources, here’s a rundown of why carts can be stolen.

1. Convenience. In urban areas in particular, where high portions of the population do not own a vehicle, carts are commonly “borrowed” to help shoppers complete other tasks or tote their purchases home.

During the Portland tracking test referenced above, carts were commonly taken out of the store and to other adjacent stores. Sometimes these were in the same plaza/complex, but they often cross the street and would travel close to a mile. Once they complete this “extended” shopping trip, the carts are then left. From here, they can be taken by a variety of sources such as scrappers or people looking to use them to transport their belongings and create shelters. E-Commerce represents a plausible way to reduce this type of theft. While delivery to a customer’s home may be expensive – it does help offset this type of cart loss. Other e-Commerce fulfillment modes like pickup lockers can also help offer a solution: Customers don’t have to push a cart home if groceries are delivered to a pickup locker in their apartment building (or somewhere nearby).

2. Resale and Scrap. Normally, ORC groups or local scrappers are not raiding a store lot for carts, but it does happen.

In many municipalities, its actually LEGAL for scrap companies to collect carts if they are “damaged.” "Damage" can be as simple as a bent frame or wobbly wheel...which is endemic to most carts as it is. Organized Crime Groups also collect carts to sell to Bodegas and to fill containers to ship overseas. Tracking technology solutions can actually track assets shipped out of the country. Allowing you to pinpoint the vessel and eventual consignee of any illicitly shipped assets.

3. Mischief. One of the most common sources of theft directly from the store is from schools and campus housing.

In more rural environments, stealing carts to use as grills is also very common. Carts can routinely be stolen and modified for use on construction sites, scrap yards, campus dorms, or apartments and condominiums.

4. Construction. In a cart theft audit, one large retailer found construction and maintenance crews from outside contractors casually took carts to transport their tools and materials. The problem is they never gave them back. Some accumulated a large fleet that would then travel to other job sites.
   
   

Knowing the source of your problem can help you determine the best method for stopping the problem. There are a range of options to let you passively or actively track your assets to figure out the best solution for any given location.