It’s no secret that shopping carts are vital assets for grocery and retail stores alike — without them, customers would have a hard time gathering the things they want and keeping them in one place on their journey. However, carts can do more than they’re often given credit for. Sure, their primary purpose is to increase sales and customer satisfaction, but different types of carts can also be used in numerous ways. Tub carts are among the most versatile vessels a store can add to its arsenal, offering efficient solutions for customers and employees alike. These carts look somewhat unassuming in their natural state, boasting little more than tube framing, shallow baskets (one on top and one below), and four wheels. However, tub carts are mainly meant to carry two bi-fold totes, which opens the door to several possibilities.

But how versatile is a tub cart, exactly? Let’s discuss the many ways you can use tub carts to your business’ advantage.

Benefits of Using Tub Carts

Stock Shelves with Fewer Trips

Whereas traditional shopping carts are mostly meant for customer use, tub carts are specially designed for employees tasked with stocking and re-stocking shelves. During your busiest periods, eager customers can quickly empty out your aisles, leaving little for the rest of their peers. Keeping up with this activity can be challenging, but tools like tub carts help ensure that as long as there’s additional stock in the back room, no shelf will become devoid of a given product. Indeed, tub carts are equipped to hold those aforementioned bi-fold totes, which can safely store significant amounts of goods. And the more products an employee can carry from the warehouse to the storefront at a given time, the better. Simply put, tub carts expedite the re-stocking process, helping your employees do their job with fewer trips, which in turn helps increase sales and keep customers happy.

Take Advantage of Two Tiers

We’ve discussed the benefits of double shopping carts in previous blog entries. To sum up, carts with two tiers allow customers to more easily navigate aisles and organize/separate goods without sacrificing too much of the additional capacity afforded by larger, single-basket carts. This same logic applies to tub carts as well. Like double basket shopping carts, tub carts are divided into two distinct tiers, meaning they can hold two totes at once — one below and one above. While this feature might not seem all that important, it makes re-stocking that much more efficient in a few key ways. 

First, employees can quickly move from the back room to the aisles without major risk of bumping into others or objects due to the carts’ relatively narrow build. Next, employees can organize their process using the cart’s two tiers — they might correspond to the top tote with a higher shelf and the bottom tote with a lower one. Lastly, having room for two totes in this way allows employees to easily replace items, placing outdated goods in the bottom tote and stocking the now-empty shelf with new goods from the top tote.

Reliable Back-Ups if You Run Out of Carts for Customers

Ideally, you’ll always have enough carts and baskets for your customers at a given time. Due to circumstances outside your control, however, a time may come when all of your carts are being used at once, making it difficult for customers who are just entering your store to complete their trip. Having some extra carts and baskets in storage is one way to help you resolve such an issue. But if you’re fresh out of regular carts as well, your tub carts can come to the rescue. Just because tub carts are primarily meant for stocking purposes doesn’t mean they can’t operate like standard carts as well. The only glaring difference between tub carts and standard double carts is that the latter has baskets built-in while the former doesn’t. As long as you have spare shopping baskets at your disposal, you can quickly turn your tub carts into double basket shopping carts to keep your customers satisfied.

Built with Longevity in Mind

Not only are tub carts multi-functional — they’re also highly durable. This durability is crucial, too, since the more versatile something is, the more trials and tribulations it’s bound to encounter. Tub carts are crafted with half-inch solid wire, heavy gauge zinc tubing, and strong casters to maximize maneuverability and minimize noise. Like other heavy duty shopping carts, tub carts still require regular maintenance to prevent rusting and other issues, but they’re resistant to various forms of damage. As such, you can enjoy the versatile benefits of your tub carts for many years to come before needing to think about serious repairs or replacements.

What Can Tub Carts Do for Your Store?

So, how versatile is a tub cart? The short answer: versatile enough to expedite your stocking processes while providing additional carts for shoppers in case your fleet runs low at a given time. If you’re looking for a new type of cart to add to your store’s arsenal, then consider investing in tub carts. Your employees and customers will appreciate the many advantages these carts have to offer.

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!