Why Don't People Return Their Shopping Carts?
Postedabout 2 months agoActiveabout 2 months ago
behavioralscientist.orgOtherstory
calmmixed
Debate
40/100
Shopping Cart BehaviorAccessibilityCultural Differences
Key topics
Shopping Cart Behavior
Accessibility
Cultural Differences
The article explores why people don't return their shopping carts, sparking a discussion on accessibility, cultural differences, and the role of cart return policies.
Snapshot generated from the HN discussion
Discussion Activity
Light discussionFirst comment
17m
Peak period
5
0-2h
Avg / period
2
Key moments
- 01Story posted
Nov 11, 2025 at 10:06 AM EST
about 2 months ago
Step 01 - 02First comment
Nov 11, 2025 at 10:24 AM EST
17m after posting
Step 02 - 03Peak activity
5 comments in 0-2h
Hottest window of the conversation
Step 03 - 04Latest activity
Nov 12, 2025 at 3:46 PM EST
about 2 months ago
Step 04
Generating AI Summary...
Analyzing up to 500 comments to identify key contributors and discussion patterns
ID: 45888084Type: storyLast synced: 11/17/2025, 6:00:52 AM
Want the full context?
Jump to the original sources
Read the primary article or dive into the live Hacker News thread when you're ready.
And your description also doesn’t explain how those who walked all the way over to the carts in the first place were unable to bring the carts back. Carts don’t magically appear beside vehicles. How are people who can make it to a cart be suddenly unable to bring by it back to that same spot? And with many stores, carts are picked up at the store front and returned much closer to the cars than the store front.
And finally, this doesn’t explain how so many carts are failed to be returned. Is 25+% of our population disabled?
I feel for anyone who is in pain and cannot walk far. But methinks you are making excuses for arseholes and selfish twats that vastly outnumber those who have genuine excuses.
The idea is that working in the store is Bad (essentially because the manager is in the store and the manager makes you do things) and working outside the store is Good because you can work more leisurely even though you have a task to complete. Therefore, being forced to take a long time to gather all of the carts because so many were left outside the corrals is Good. For what it's worth, the idea was introduced to me by someone who claimed to have worked at a grocery store and that their favorite thing to do at that job was to gather the carts because it was so laid-back.
I still return my carts but this would 100% be my (honest) justification if I was ever approached by a cart narc after not returning a cart. If only to see their reaction when I say, with a completely straight face and the willingness to argue the point, "This is a kindness." (Also, it's a bit interesting to me that this was not included as a justification in the videos the author watched.)
The line between what services should be included (e.g., checkout) and which shouldn’t (cart return) seems at times arbitrary and at times that it only benefits the business. The moralizing around it is frankly a bit nuts. Is it immoral to place your order with a human if the fast food place has a kiosk? Is having a checker ring you up somehow a moral flaw?