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For a stay at home mom with two small boys, which stores I can shop are at times determined by a range of factors. Factors such as accessability, parking, helpfulness of employees, width of store aisles and of course the size and maneuverability of the shopping carts.

In a majority of American households, the women do the necessary shopping for the house. Whether this is fair or not is irrelevantit is a fact. Frequently, women are required to bring their children along to do the necessary shopping. Things which I mentioned above play a larger role to consumers than one might thing. For example, I have an appointment at a nearby beauty supply store later this morning, and I am already dreading it. The aisles are narrow and cramped, and there are not shopping carts available. The amount of time I spend inside the store is going to be minimal, at best.

I believe this is true for alot of stay at home moms with children. The inability to maneuver through a store may keep them from visiting the store all together or may limit their shopping to specific items only. This means less money will be spent and limited \”impulse buys\”. All in the attempt to avoid a public melt down by either mom or the kids.

Shopping carts play a big part for me in choosing where to shop. The size and maneuverability determine how in which car seats or infant carriers will be managed during the shopping experience. A cart not accomodating the car seat properly may result in simply balancing it in place versus actually securing it to the cart. This can be quite dangerous while steering and making your way around the store.

Every business should provide carts to fit the type of store and the products for which they sell. The carts should be light and sturdy, avoiding large heavy and bulky ones. Their size should be limited to the size of the aisles yet be large enough to accomodate the items sold. Not having the proper size cart for the size of the store and aisles makes shopping difficult and frustrating.

On several occassions, I have simply left a store due to frustration created by shopping carts being the wrong size for the shop I was in, or the wheels not working correctly or even aisles to cluttered for me the navigate through them to get to the items which I am most interested. I seem to avoid these stores in the future due to these bad experiences.

Having a shopping cart large enough for a small business can sometimes be an issue. There is a fine line between convenience of the shopper, and making the cart too large to be able to smoothly transition to different areas of the store. I personally need a cart which is large enough to also allow a five-year-old to sit in the basket with whatever items I am purchasing. This makes it tricky for a small business. A lot of times small businesses are limited on space, and don’t have the option of wide aisles for their inventory. There has to be a good balance of both to make it convenient for a person to shop.

It seems silly to think that the kinds of shopping carts a particular store has would keep me from shopping at the store. It is the truth, however. There is a particular large retailer whose doors I didn’t enter because I was unable to secure my infant carrier to the front of the shopping cart. It wasn’t until he could sit up on his own that I was able to start shopping at the store again. The shopping carts do have an impact on the clientele, however mundane it may seem. The best types of shopping carts I would use for my small business would be lightweight, possibly plastic, wide enough to secure an infant carrier, and light enough to not feel bulky as I navigate the stores. The best shopping cart for my small business would also take into consideration the size of the aisles they would have to navigate. The best shopping cart for my small business would be large enough to hold another child in the basket while also holding my products. And the best shopping cart for my small business would also have sturdy, freely turning wheels to make it easier to navigate aisles. The best shopping cart for my small business would not be too small or flimsy for customers to feel secure about placing their children in the front basket. Overall, the best shopping cart for my small business woult take into consideration all of the things which would make a customer linger for just a little longer in the store.