If you want to increase your sales, one way is to make it easy for customers to gather items throughout the store. The best bet is a cart. The size and design of the cart depends on your merchandise as well as your aisle space. The American Disabilities Act requires aisles to be 36-inches wide between fixtures, but the aisle should really be wider for shopping carts. Ideally, a four-foot aisle is necessary to provide enough space to turn a shopping cart around and to allow two people to pass by each other comfortably in an aisle. These wider aisles are a necessity for grocery, liquor or drug stores.
Carts should be functional, yet stylish enough to complement your store’s theme or branding. Remember, if they can’t fit an item in their cart or basket, they’re not going to buy it. If you choose a shopping basket, make it a bright color – customers have to see it before they’ll grab it. Strategic placement of baskets will also encourage use. Let customers get oriented when they walk in the door, and have the baskets stacked either in front of them or a few steps into the store. Placing baskets right in the doorway can impede traffic flow and also detract from the initial impression when customers enter the store. Baskets should be deep – not only does a bigger basket allow space for more merchandise, it eliminates the need for two baskets. A compromise of a combination basket/cart can be struck by using a basket on wheels. Just make sure the pull-handles are of a higher quality and the wheels glide easily along the floor. We recommend carts or baskets over cloth bags that get burdensome and heavy for customers to carry.
Determine the customer friendliness of your carry-all baskets or carts by actually becoming a customer in your own store, physically making a shopping trip there. Ask others to do the same and provide their feedback. If you listen and incorporate a few small changes, you may see your merchandise move right before your eyes!