A little shopping basket can go a long way, especially if your store primarily sells smaller objects, such as souvenirs, makeup items, travel-sized products, snacks, etc. Smaller stores may stick with smaller baskets to save space, too. However, these spatial limitations can take a toll on your business’s bottom line. The more stuff you sell, the better – but if a customer simply can’t fit everything they want to buy into a single basket, you might see a smaller sale or lose it altogether. To optimize sales, you must strike the perfect balance between container size and spatial considerations.

So, what should you do when your baskets aren’t big enough to hold everything a customer plans to purchase? Here are some options to consider.

What to Do if a Customer’s Basket is too Small

Offer Them a Small Cart Instead

When the products start piling up inside a shopping basket, the person carrying it faces two challenges: running out of space and running out of energy. Indeed, a full basket can become a burden to haul around, especially if several items inside are particularly dense. Switching the basket out for a shopping cart can help solve both of these issues, offering additional space and allowing the customer to rest their muscles. Many (though not all) small shopping carts have more carrying capacity than small baskets, especially those that offer both an upper and lower basket. One caveat of this approach is that carts tend to take up more space than baskets – this can become an issue if you run a small store. Before you invest in carts, then, make sure you can properly store them and that there’s enough room throughout your store for customers to comfortably maneuver them.

Boost Your Basket Game

Carts aren’t the only solution to this problem. If your baskets aren’t big enough for a significant portion of your customer base, it’s only logical to buy bigger baskets. Even a minor upgrade in depth, width, and length can yield significant sales increases. Keep in mind, of course, that large baskets, much like shopping carts, take up additional space. Depending on your store’s size and layout, introducing larger baskets might result in collisions, inefficiencies, and other spatial sacrifices. Once again, balance is key. You ultimately want to provide your customers with baskets big enough for larger purchases but small enough to not become major burdens or obstacles.

Save Space with Utility Carts

So, both a small cart and large shopping basket can take up too much space in your store. What if there were a way to increase a customer’s carrying capacity without taking up additional space? Look no further than utility carts. These personal folding carts can collapse when empty for simple storage. When opened, a utility cart offers a narrow but deep basket that can hold much more than a smaller shopping basket. As an added bonus, these carts are typically meant for personal use, meaning people purchase them and bring them with them to the store – as such, you don’t have to worry about storing them within your walls. It is a good idea to invest in some of these utility carts to sell, however.

Reconsider Your Store’s Layout

You can’t magically increase the amount of space inside your store. You can, however, open things up for your customers by rearranging your store’s layout. Overhauling your store’s configuration is a major project, but shifting around displays, widening aisles, and simplifying your merchandising philosophy can go a long way toward freeing up space where it’s needed most. This way, should you decide to invest in carts or extra large baskets, you and your customers will have more room to work with.

Give Them a Helping Hand

The optimal size for the baskets or carts you offer your customers doesn’t isn’t just determined by the amount of items they purchase – it also comes down to the size of things you sell. Your store might be small, but it might feature a handful of items that far exceed the carrying capacity of your available vessels. If these large purchases aren’t the norm, it might not be worth it to fill your store with large baskets or carts. Instead, consider treating these purchases as special affairs that require special attention. Whenever a customer wants to buy a larger item, offer to help them carry it out to their vehicle – no shopping basket or cart necessary. Providing this level of service is more challenging in a busy environment, but smaller stores tend to operate in a more intimate way, making this more possible.

Small Store, Big Purchases

The size of your baskets and/or carts can have a significant impact on the size of your sales numbers over the long run – it also has an impact on the customer experience and your store’s remaining amount of space. When your customers need something bigger than the baskets you offer them,you might change up your store’s layout and make a concerted effort to help customers with their larger purchases. You might also think about investing in some small carts, utility carts, or larger baskets. If so, Good L Corp. can provide you and your customers with the perfect solutions.

Good L Corporation delivers innovative shopping cart and basket solutions for retailers on a global scale. Good L Corp. can configure the right carryall strategy to boost your retail business, from a fleet of new custom carts to launch your store opening to replacement baskets that supplement your existing shop supply. Let’s get started! Contact us today for a no-pressure sales quote!