You’ve probably been to a store that has child-size shopping carts: they’re a popular amenity that my five-year-old self would have enjoyed. Target recently decided to give mini carts a try in a few dozen stores in Minnesota and in New York, and has now removed them after only about a month.
What happened? Target’s official explanation is that it really values customers’ opinions, and customers apparently didn’t like them very much.
“We briefly tested kiddie carts at 72 Target stores, and after reviewing guest and stores feedback, we have made the decision to stop the test,” a spokeswoman told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
Looking deeper, it turns out that the kids liked them just fine, but the wide aisles and sheer size of a Target store combined with tiny children was not a good combination.
Why? The Star-Tribune’s Kavita Kumar found this video on Twitter that may explain the problem:
Liv is obsessed with the little carts at @Target
http://pic.twitter.com/NG4si4p2Tz
— Lil Jonesy (@keepinupwjonesy) September 7, 2016
Another mother noted that her ankles were bruised:
It’s unfortunate, because the carts are adorable, with little dog mascot flags. Unfortunately, children are tiny candy-eating monsters of destruction.
Target removes kids’ shopping carts after kids went wild with them [Minneapolis Star-Tribune]
by Laura Northrup via Consumerist