If you own a local retail store, you’re probably doing your best to optimize the customer experience while maximizing each transaction. It’s a difficult balance, but with the right tools and strategies in place, you can balance this equation.

A key part of the shopper experience and the potential to increase impulse buys comes down to the equipment you’ve put in place. And this leads to the question of what’s better: metal shopping carts or plastic ones?  

Assessing the merits of metal vs. plastic carts comes down to three core factors: durability, long-term ROI, and maintenance. Each style of cart brings distinct advantages, and the best choice depends on how your store operates, what your customers expect, and how you plan to grow.

Why Metal Shopping Carts?

Metal shopping carts have lower upfront costs because they’re easier to manufacture. They’re also lightweight, making them easy to maneuver, which can reduce strain on your employees when they’re gathering stray carts and potentially encourage longer customer shop times.

In addition, if their wire frames become spindled, they can be welded back to normal quite easily, while rusted components can be treated or replaced – both of which extend the life of each unit. If you’re a retailer with an in-house maintenance team, easy repairability can yield even greater cost savings.

In the retail industry, classic wire shopping cart designs generally motivate “serious shopping.” Customers associate steel carts with full grocery runs, which aligns with your revenue goals. And since they’re easy to push along, they also provide a smooth and enjoyable customer experience.

The Pros of Plastic Shopping Carts

Plastic carts represent a newer generation of cart innovation.

Made of high-impact polymer, their frames resist bending and dents, flexing and rebounding instead of caving in on impact. They’re also immune to rust, making them especially valuable in humid climates and coastal regions. While initial investment costs are higher, their durability often reduces their replacement frequency, improving ROI down the road.

Noise is another consideration. Wire carts rattle, creating clatter that may compromise the customer experience in some settings. If you’re striving to offer your customers a quieter, more upscale experience, plastic carts, which dampen vibration, would be a better choice. Customers notice when a grocery shopping cart glides smoothly rather than announcing every turn, but this would only be a priority if a premium experience is the expectation. Otherwise, the rattle in a grocery store setting signals brisk business, which can subtly reassure customers they’re in the right place.

Finally, the products you sell will influence whether a metal or plastic cart is most appropriate. For grocery stores, hardware stores, pharmacies, and similar operations where products are not at risk of catching on extruding rods, metal carts work perfectly. If you specialize in clothing or other items made of delicate materials (e.g., fabrics), plastic is the safer choice.  

Let’s Talk Branding: Metal Carts or Plastic?

Branding also influences the wire vs. plastic debate. Wire carts limit branding to logo placement on each side of the cart. They come in one color so store names and logos can be displayed, but the cart cannot be further customized to reflect your specific branding colors.

Plastic carts can be fully customized to serve as a branding vehicle that consistently reflects your identity for deep integration and cohesion. Aisles become marketing channels, your parking lot becomes a stage, and the nested carts in the storage areas become consistent brand ambassadors, one by one.

On the subject of parking lots: steel carts that take an unexpected turn, or rogue carts that wheel away unexpectedly can scratch and dent vehicles. Plastic carts are more forgiving on impact, reducing the risk of damage, damage claims, and customer dissatisfaction.

What About Differences in Shopping Cart Wheels?

The quality of your shopping cart’s wheels doesn’t depend on whether the cart is metal or plastic, but on how it was manufactured. At Good L Corp, we prioritize quality and performance. The wheels on both our metal and our plastic carts are high-quality polyurethane designed for durability and a smooth, quiet, non-marking ride, ideal for indoor and outdoor use.

At the end of the day, when it’s quality that matters, a true heavy-duty shopping cart is defined by how it performs after years of daily use. For high marks in this area, turn to our trusted manufacturing and assembly processes at Good L.

There’s no “one-size-fits-all” shopping cart solution in retail. Every store has its own aisle width, product mixes, and customer expectations. Our goal is to match your unique environment with the right equipment to achieve your goals with our American made carts.

Both our fleet of plastic shopping carts and steel carts are 100% American-made and fabricated with the highest-grade materials. Each model is manufactured for longevity, smooth mobility, and consistent performance.

At Good L, we help you make the decisions that pay off. From local corner stores to high-volume supermarkets and department stores, our carts work as hard as you do.

Ready to upgrade your fleet? Get in touch with Good L Corporation today.