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Missing trolleys cost big to supermarkets in UAE

Dubai - These carts are being abandoned on busy roads and in residential areas.

Shopping cart theft and abandonment is a major issue among stores in the UAE. Despite repeated appeals to shoppers to not take shopping carts home, shops claim that many trolleys are still going missing, and it's proving to be a drain on supermarket revenues.

Costing upwards of Dh300 a piece, shopping cart losses are becoming such an epidemic that in recent years, supermarket chains have been forced to implement extra measures to hunt down abandoned carts from local neighbourhoods.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, a spokesperson for Lulu Hypermarket said shoppers taking carts and not returning them has long been an issue for supermarkets.

"We have been seeing this trend for many years; it's global. On average, Lulu sees around 10 to 12 carts go missing from some of its bigger stores each month in the UAE."

With each cart costing from 'Dh300-Dh500 and around 50 medium and hypermarket-sized stores in the UAE', that totals to an average of Dh150,000 in lost carts each month for the popular supermarket chain. "It was nearly double that before we introduced measures to tackle the issue. More than just a cost factor, this is becoming a hazard for the community too. These carts are being abandoned on busy roads and in residential areas."

Shopping carts have now become a standard feature of city streets (not just supermarkets), as some customers tend to leave carts in the parking lot, or use them to walk to a nearby bus stop or home.

Carrying out an audit every six months to evaluate retrieval, repair and replacement costs of shopping carts, Lulu also deploys staff to drive around in a pickup truck collecting them on a daily basis.

"We have deployed a team that goes around at night to nearby areas to collect carts. They are usually abandoned in close vicinity to the stores because you can't push a trolley so far. For each hypermarket, we deploy eight people and two trucks each evening."

Additionally, it has also trained staff to discourage people from taking carts off the premises and it has distributed notices that remind customers to use them within the store or mall only.

"Our staff will follow the shopper to the car and help them offload their shopping before bringing the cart back. That is one way of curbing the issue."

And thankfully, he said, the measures are working as the problem does tend to taper off when customers are reminded of the issue.

A response from Carrefour was still awaited at the time of publishing this article. The online version will be updated if such a response is received later.

Customers cry foul as shop restricts cart use

Some residents in Sharjah are questioning a popular supermarket in Al Butaina after the shop's management banned them from taking groceries to their nearby homes using the store's shopping carts.

The notice in front of Nesto Supermarket. - Photo by M. Sajjad

Following the outcry from its customers, Nesto Supermarket, which initially posted a notice at the supermarket advising shoppers not to take carts home, has withdrawn the complete ban. However, before allowing customers to take the trolleys to their homes, the staff would collect personal information, including phone number, home address and the trolley number. Those carrying only a few items will not be allowed to do so.

Basheer Mohammed, general manager of Nesto Supermarket, said the decision was taken after the shop management noticed that residents of the area are misusing the carts by taking them home and not returning them. They also dump the trolleys on streets and the staff have to walk around to collect them back.

"Leaving them randomly on the streets caused number of accidents too," he said.

The decision has given an increase in business to nearby smaller groceries as they deliver items straight to the residents' door.

Despite the discounted prices on offer at Nesto, residents in Al Butaina and Al Nasseriya neighbourhoods have been left irked by the decision to ban the use of shopping carts off the shop premises. Many customers said it was too difficult to carry items home without a cart.

Several residents, who live nearby, said they don't want to take their cars to Nesto.

Mohammed Amin, a resident of Al Butaina, said he had seen many Nesto staff stopping shoppers with carts from going out of the store.

Nadia Atta and her sisters claimed the shop staff asked them to empty a large number of groceries on the road and were told to use a taxi to deliver items home.

Haram Musa, who lives close to Nesto, was happy with its services when it initially opened as the shop offered great discounts on groceries. However, she claimed it has now become difficult for her to shop due to the decision to ban carts off the premises.

Measures to prevent cart theft/abandonment

Cart Retrieval Service- Retrieval service/team to retrieve carts found off store property. It's more cost effective than replacing cart itself

Electronic, magnetic systems- Systems involve an electronic wheel lock attached to cart. Parking lot of retail store/mall is fitted with thin wire which locks wheel when cart passes over certain point

Physical systems- Restrict carts from leaving inside store. However, these methods can impede people with determination. Alternatively, a system where customers unlock carts via a coin

GPS tracking systems- A GPS tracking system allows stores to keep track of shopping carts

afkarali@khaleejtimes.com kelly@khaleejtimes.com