Shopping Cart Reminder

The thoughtless act I observed was shoppers placing their shopping carts in small enclosed spaces within the parking lot that were actually not the designated cart areas. This is especially a problem in larger parking lots where people do not want to take the time to bring their shopping cart to the appropriate place.  Stores have created more designated cart docking stations in parking lots but other design solutions might include:

• A weight-sensitive bottom platform and sensor in the cart that activates a voice reminder to place carts back when the shopper has unloaded groceries into the car.
• Installing a coupon station near the designated cart areas that is activated when the shopper has clicked the cart back into the place - generating a coupon from the machine.
• A wireless sensor in the cart and a solar powered engine that self-rolls the carts back to their docking stations from anywhere in the parking lot (admittedly an expensive solution).