I am a stay at home mom of two small boys. Like a lot of stay-at-home moms, I am limited to what stores are "accessable to me" by a number of things. Things like the width of store aisles, the ease of parking, helpfulness of employees, and the size and maneuverability of the available shopping carts are all a factor in where I can and can't go.



Like so many other American households, I do the majority of the shopping. Not sure if this is fair or not, but irrelevant in my case as it's a fact. As so many others, I bring my children along. Which stores to shop is truly based on the factors I mentioned above and play a much larger role than some may think. For example, I have an appointment at a beauty supply store later this morning. The aisles and lack of availability of shopping carts will limit the time I am willing to spend inside the store.

I believe this is true for a majority of women in my position. If it is difficult to shop the store because the ease of maneuverability, a good number of consumers are going to avoid the store or business as much as possible, and when they do enter the store, it will be for as little time as possible. This means less money is spent, and they are less likely to purchase "impulse buys". They will be in and out of the store on a mission to get the few items they need and then get out before there is a public meltdown (either by mom or children!).

One of the most important factors, as silly as it may seem, when I choose a store to shop at and linger at, is the size and maneuverability of the shopping carts. The front of the cart needs to be wide enough to place a carseat without feeling like the cart would topple at any moment, and the handle of the cart couldn't be too much lower than the basket, otherwise the car seat/ infant carrier would be balanced rather precariously on the front without actually "clipping in", making it secure.

The ideal shopping cart for a small business should be sturdy and lightnot bulky and heavy. It should be large enough to contain the items a shopper needs, but not so large that maneuvering through aisles becomes difficult and frustrating.

On numerous occassions, I have left a store, in the middle of shopping, out of frustration associated with their shopping carts. Their carts were too large with hard to turn wheels along with aisles to cramped to get around in and where I needed to go. My frustration would grow as I attempted to navigate the store. Hence I would leave and avoid that particular store in the future.

Having a shopping cart large enough for a small business can sometimes be an issue. There is a fine line between convenience of the shopper, and making the cart too large to be able to smoothly transition to different areas of the store. I personally need a cart which is large enough to also allow a five-year-old to sit in the basket with whatever items I am purchasing. This makes it tricky for a small business. A lot of times small businesses are limited on space, and don't have the option of wide aisles for their inventory. There has to be a good balance of both to make it convenient for a person to shop.

It seems silly to think that the kinds of shopping carts a particular store has would keep me from shopping at the store. It is the truth, however. There is a particular large retailer whose doors I didn't enter because I was unable to secure my infant carrier to the front of the shopping cart. It wasn't until he could sit up on his own that I was able to start shopping at the store again. The shopping carts do have an impact on the clientele, however mundane it may seem. The best types of shopping carts I would use for my small business would be lightweight, possibly plastic, wide enough to secure an infant carrier, and light enough to not feel bulky as I navigate the stores. The best shopping cart for my small business would also take into consideration the size of the aisles they would have to navigate. The best shopping cart for my small business would be large enough to hold another child in the basket while also holding my products. And the best shopping cart for my small business would also have sturdy, freely turning wheels to make it easier to navigate aisles. The best shopping cart for my small business would not be too small or flimsy for customers to feel secure about placing their children in the front basket. Overall, the best shopping cart for my small business woult take into consideration all of the things which would make a customer linger for just a little longer in the store.