Most people don’t think twice about in-store shopping carts unless the one they’re using is heavy, cumbersome, or difficult to maneuver. As a retail store owner, however, you probably know there’s more to a high-quality shopping cart than weight and user-friendliness. The materials used in the manufacturing process and the cart’s design both enhance utility and efficiency. In addition, American-made shopping carts that nest easily affect how many items a customer can buy, how much space the carts occupy, and how quickly you can add to your mix of carts and baskets.

The team at Good L Corp. helps you check all the right boxes. Our shopping carts are durable, easy to handle, and manufactured at our plant in La Vergne, TN. This means you can count on shorter lead times and faster delivery times.

What Are the Best Shopping Cart Materials Retailers Should Know About?

Manufacturing a lighter shopping cart is only helpful if the materials used don’t compromise strength and durability.

By manufacturing our baskets and carts at our own plant, we exercise full control over the materials, construction, and quality of each product we deliver. Our specialty Tub Carts are crafted with half-inch solid wire and heavy-gauge zinc tubing. They’re easy to use, stack comfortably, and their two-tier design allows more shoppers to browse your aisles. Our Standard Basket Carts offer the lightweight convenience of a basket and the enhanced mobility of a shopping carriage. We apply a liquid polyester coating over a bright zinc finish for durability and shine, and with two tiers of baskets, they lead to more impulse buys and longer dwell times. Without their plastic baskets, these carts also nest incredibly efficiently in their corral areas.

We apply the same principles to our plastic shopping baskets. Good L uses copolymers because they provide better impact strength, and we’re the only shopping basket manufacturer to use this material. That difference matters in a product that can be dropped, knocked into fixtures, repeatedly stacked, and put through thousands of shopping trips over its service life. The goal is to engineer products that are easier to handle while still standing up to the job.

Lightweight, Maneuverable Designs Keep Things Moving

The right shopping cart makes a big difference. A bulky grocery shopping cart can be perfectly appropriate in a larger supermarket, but isn’t necessarily the right choice for a retailer with narrow aisles or limited floor space.

Good L’s Big and Standard Basket Carts are only 16 inches wide and can, as we tell our customers, “turn on a dime.” This makes them particularly useful in smaller stores.

These designs benefit employees, too. Several Good L carts can double as restocking carts, allowing your employees to transport merchandise back and forth quickly and easily. And since our Tub Carts hold two bi-fold totes, your employees will make fewer trips from the back of the store to shelving areas. When one cart doubles as an efficient tool for both customers and store employees, it keeps both your merchandise and your operations moving.

How Many Shopping Carts Does a Store Need?

Retailers frequently underestimate how many carts they really need, particularly during their busiest periods. A useful industry benchmark is approximately 12 carts for every 2,000 square feet of retail space, but square footage is only the starting point.

Your inventory also needs to accommodate the number of customers shopping at peak times. Running short can leave arriving customers searching for a cart or basket just when your store is at its busiest, and that can impact potential transaction values. Well-designed shopping carts that occupy less space when they’re not being used allow you to maintain sufficient inventory without unnecessarily sacrificing valuable floor or storage space.

American-Made Shopping Carts Add Another Layer of Efficiency

There’s an operational advantage to knowing where your carts come from.

Because we manufacture our carts and baskets in-house in Tennessee, we can accommodate customization requirements quickly and efficiently. Domestic production gives us greater control over the manufacturing process from order through production, and gives you the peace of mind you deserve, knowing our team is just a phone call away.

At Good L, we’ve spent decades perfecting every detail that makes for a top-tier product (things your shoppers may never consciously notice). From materials and maneuverability to nesting and durability, we’ve got you covered.

Need help planning your shopping cart inventory? Contact our team at Good L Corp. and let our experts help you find the right solution for your space, your customers, and your day-to-day operations.