Why Won't People Return Their Shopping Carts?

Shopping carts often litter store parking lots, and apparently, those ditching the cart corral seem to think they have good reasons.

My biggest pet peeve in the entire world is people who refuse to return their shopping cart to the store corral at the end of their shopping venture. I can't even count the times I've had to move a shopping cart out of a parking space so I could park my vehicle. Also, those shopping carts tend to take off during strong gusts of wind, causing damage to surrounding vehicles. It takes just a few seconds to be a good human being and return your shopping cart, so why is it so hard for some people?

While researching this topic, I found an article that shed light on why people don't want to go the extra mile (or rather yard) after loading up their vehicle. Scientific American reports there are actually quite a few different reasons people don't return their shopping cart. I'll admit, some of them sound fairly solid, but others are just plain lazy. You can see them below.

The receptacle is too far from where they've parked their car.
The person has a child whom they do not want to leave unattended.
The weather is bad.
The person has a disability.
People hold the perception that it's someone else's job to collect the carts.
They're leaving the carts for someone else to easily pick up and use.

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Perhaps the worst reason for not returning your shopping cart after you're done using it came from Reddit. While on a particular thred, there was a person who wrote out a long narrative about how they purposefully do not return their shopping cart. The primary reason behind their actions is definitely something I had never considered. See more below.

Many people feel that it is their duty as a shopper to return the shopping cart that they just used at the supermarket to the shopping cart area, and consider it rude to leave the cart in the middle of the parking lot next to your car. However, I believe that not only is it more convenient for the shopper to leave the cart he or she just used next to his or her car, but it also creates demand for "Courtesy Clerk" jobs at the supermarket.

I will be the first to admit that the above reasoning is ultimately absurd. It's like saying, "I commit crimes to give police officers and prosecutors jobs." It makes no sense. If you have the capability, I highly recommend you return your shopping cart. It is definitely more convenient for those around you and shows people you are not a total shopping cart litter monster.

LOOK: Here's how much grocery shopping now costs in the U.S.

The average cost of groceries for one person per month in 2023 was around $337. But how does your state compare? Do you pay more, or less? Data compiled by Zippia takes a look at the average monthly grocery bill per person in all 50 states. States are listed from least expensive to most expensive and are rounded up to the nearest dollar.

Gallery Credit: Mike Brant