Dozens of shopping carts are missing at a supermarket in Wezep, Gelderland. People would keep the trolleys in their garden, among other things, so that they can use the same trolley every time corona proof. Supermarkets in Nijmegen, Arnhem and Leeuwarden are also facing this problem. Can this be prevented?
Supermarket manager Juriën de Ruiter is currently missing sixty shopping trolleys at his Plus in Wezep. Since corona, he has noticed that many customers want to have their own cart and take it home. “Normally we have 130 shopping trolleys. The store can accommodate exactly 130 customers, so we count how full the store is based on the number of trolleys,” he told EditieNL. “But last Wednesday we only had 80 carts left.”
He made an appeal on Facebook and he is now back at 100. “People take carts with them and they stand in the garden. They prefer their own cart because of the risk of contamination. Then they can disinfect the cart better.” De Ruiter has seen a significant increase in the number of carts taken in recent weeks. “It’s just very annoying. It always happens, but much more since corona.”
Chip
But what can he do against it then? It is difficult for the supermarket employee to search for his trolleys all over the neighborhood.
Frank Dam from Wanzl, a supplier of shopping trolleys, is currently working on a cart with a built-in chip. “This chip can then show where the trolley is. The customer also receives extra bonus points on his or her card when the trolley is returned.”
The Central Food Agency does not recognize the problem. Lianne ter Maat told EditieNL: “There can sometimes be outliers, but taking trolleys with you is of all times. That’s only normal now.”
