All shopping baskets are not created equal. However, as a shopper, you might not pay much attention to the differences between baskets from one business to another. After all, every shopping basket serves the same basic function: to help you gather and carry items to purchase at the end of your trip. And yet, shopping baskets can differ in a number of ways both practical and aesthetic. If you run a retail or grocery business, maintaining an awareness of the different types of baskets and customization options out there can help you improve customer satisfaction, boost sales, and optimize your purchase of new baskets and carts.

With that in mind, let’s go over five ways to make shopping baskets unique and optimized for your brand and location.

How to Make Shopping Baskets Unique

1. Color Your Baskets

If you recognize any distinguishing factor from one business’ baskets to another’s, it’s probably the color of said baskets. You might find blue baskets at one store, red baskets at another, green somewhere else, and so on. Even if everything else about these baskets is the same, these color differences do make a big difference. Simply put, a location’s unique shopping baskets tie into and reinforce its brand identity — there’s a good chance that those aforementioned blue baskets share the same color as the business’ logo or color scheme, and the same goes for red baskets, green baskets, and so on. By matching your shopping basket colors with your store’s palette, you make your brand more recognizable and unified. 

2. Label Your Baskets

A basket’s coloration may be the first thing customers notice when picking one up. However, there are only so many colors to choose from, and your baskets might resemble a nearby competitor’s baskets if you share a similar color scheme. For this reason, it’s a good idea to differentiate your baskets even further. How? By stamping your logo on each and every one of your baskets, of course. At first, you might not think that investing in such custom shopping baskets is worth it — who is going to take the time to read the side of their basket anyway? On the contrary, however, placing your business’ name and/or logo on your baskets further reinforces your brand and adds a level of professionalism to your location. Even if customers don’t think too hard about what your baskets look like, presenting them with colorful, branded baskets (as opposed to bland, generic vessels) sends a positive intrinsic message about your business and keeps your brand top of mind.

3. Go Big, Small, and/or Standard

So far we’ve only discussed the visual options you might consider to make your baskets more unique, but we haven’t touched on the practical factors that differentiate your baskets. The size and shape of your shopping baskets also send a message about your brand and have a direct impact on your customers’ experiences and sales trends. For instance, a store that primarily sells small items and minimal purchase loads might offer mini baskets to its customers. In doing so, such a business saves space (larger baskets wouldn’t be necessary) while still encouraging its customers to pick up as many goods as possible (just because the products are small doesn’t mean someone will want to carry them all by hand). Conversely, large baskets might be right at home in a bigger store that sells bigger, bulkier things. There is a considerable spectrum of basket sizes and shapes on the market, and some are more or less suited for particular locations.

4. Slap on Some Wheels

Generally speaking, shopping baskets consist of two main components — the basket itself and some type of handle. This doesn’t mean that all baskets must abide by this standard anatomy. If you want to offer your customers truly unique baskets, consider investing in rolling shopping baskets. These baskets, as their name suggests, feature wheels (as well as an additional retractable telescopic handle) so they can roll along the floor when desired or when necessary. As such, these baskets can carry larger, heavier loads than standard baskets and offer additional mobility for customers who need it. These perks translate to happier customers and increased sales.

5. Transform Them into Shopping Carts

Roller carts aren’t the only type of unique basket-cart hybrid available. Basket carts offer another unique and highly mobile solution for customers with particular needs and shopping habits. These devices are essentially frames on wheels with empty spaces that jut out so baskets can be placed inside them. You might think of them as shopping cart skeletons. Because basket carts aren’t complete shopping baskets, they take up less space and are easy to store. Customers who simply want to carry their basket can do so, while those who want to push their load around can drop their basket into the basket cart frame and operate it just like a shopping cart. That’s a win-win for everyone.

Break the Mold With Your Baskets

A shopping basket is more than just a basket for shopping — it’s a vehicle to reinforce your brand, a conduit for optimizing your space and sales trends, and an agent for improving customer experience. So, when it’s time to purchase new shopping baskets for your store, don’t forget to make them your own. Good L Corp. delivers innovative shopping cart and basket solutions for retailers on a global scale. From a fleet of new custom carts to launch your store opening to replacement baskets that supplement your existing shop supply, Good L Corp. can configure the right carryall strategy to boost your retail business. Let’s get started! Contact us today for a no-pressure sales quote.