There are various social cues about a person that might not seem major but tell a lot about their personality. Similarly, as per a theory posted by an anonymous user on a platform called 4chan, whether someone puts their shopping cart back in its place can reveal a lot about them. “The shopping cart is the ultimate litmus test for whether a person is capable of self-governing,” the post read. The post goes on to say how it is easy and convenient and how most people know that it is the right thing to do.
Also, it pointed out how returning the cart is always the right thing to do apart from some emergencies and it isn’t illegal to abandon a cart. “Therefore, the shopping cart presents itself as the apex example of whether the person will do the right thing or not without being forced to do it,” the person added. The people who don’t put their cart back have to be threatened by the law to do the right thing. “The shopping cart is what determines if the person is a good or a bad member of the society.” However, a person’s actions can also come down to what other people think of them, per Bolde. Nobody wants to be perceived as lazy. Hence, many people return their carts for that reason.
However, it also points out that returning a cart depends on whether the person cares about other people. If people are considerate, they will return the cart so it is not wandering around the parking lot coming people’s way or causing the employees to work extra to collect the carts and return them to their place. u/gold_toilet6668 reposted it on Reddit, where people shared different opinions on the matter. u/pablo_eskybar wrote, “I call b******* on this. If we all returned the shopping trolleys, then trolly pushers would be out of a job. Create work and don’t return your trolly.” u/soilspawn commented, “Each time I leave a shopping cart unreturned, a wagie has to do it. Therefore, I am creating work that is essential to the economy. Now stop crying and get back to work.”
u/Distracted_bunny argued, “No, they absolutely wouldn’t. They have cart corrals in random spots in the parking lot where customers need to put the carts. The cart pushers then take them from the corral and put them back at the front of the store where they are actually kept. Not putting carts in the corral is hazardous, especially when it’s windy out and slams into someone’s cart and puts a dent in it.” u/Zee3420 remarked, “It also determines whether I hate you when I have to grab it right before it starts storming. I hate people who don’t put carts back or at least in the corrals. F*** those people.”
The Kitchn pointed out several ways where this theory lags, especially as it doesn’t consider old and disabled people for whom it might be quite difficult to return a cart after a shopping trip. “That guy who didn’t return his cart may not be a complete jerk. He may just be using the example set by others so he can get home a little more quickly. But if everyone does that, then we’re shifting the balance of what is acceptable, which may have greater ramifications to the social order,” Krystal D’Costa, an anthropologist, remarked, mentioning where the theory could go wrong.