All shopping baskets are not created equal. They vary in both shape and size, as well as material, color, etc. Providing your patrons with baskets that suit their needs and your products is a simple, yet effective way to boost customer satisfaction and sales. The question remains, then: which shopping basket shape is best for you? The only way to answer this question is to take some key factors into consideration, namely:

• The average shape and size of the products you sell
• The average customer haul (i.e. how much the typical customer purchases at a given time)
• The size of your store and aisles
• The mobility and strength of your average customer
• The provision (or lack thereof) of other shopping vessels, such as carts

Each of these factors plays a role in determining the optimal size and shape of the baskets you offer your customers. Let’s go through some of the different basket shapes and types out there and which circumstances they best fit so you can make the best decision for your business.

Types of Shopping Carts

Standard Shopping Baskets

Most of us have encountered the standard shopping basket at various retailers and grocery stores, and for good reason. These baskets are the all-around staples that suit most customers’ needs without catering to any unique circumstances. Standard baskets work well for stores that sell a variety of small to medium-sized goods. These baskets aren’t so small that they can’t carry a decent load, nor are they so big that they create obstacles for the handler and other customers. Of course, if your store primarily sells smaller items, a standard basket might be bigger than necessary, taking up space. And if you carry larger items, a standard basket might not be big enough to hold it — if it can, there might not be much room for other items. If you provide carts to your customers, however, they can opt to use a cart for larger purchases and a standard basket for smaller ones.

Wide, Shallow Shopping Baskets

At first glance, wide, shallow baskets might not seem all that practical — after all, shouldn’t your baskets be capacious enough to carry several items at once? This is a reasonable argument, but it falls apart when one considers the utility of these flattened baskets in specific situations. For one thing, the short, shallow nature of these baskets allows for ample storage. Additionally, these wider baskets are still capable of carrying a decent haul, as long as the items placed inside are of a similar shape: long and flat. If your store sells such products, such as greeting/trading cards, makeup, envelopes, ornaments, etc., this basket shape might be ideal. Indeed, most mini baskets on the market adopt this shape.

Tall Shopping Baskets

Whereas smaller, wider baskets restrict capacity to some degree, tall baskets provide some extra depth. These taller vessels are ideal for stores that sell lanky and/or bulky products that might otherwise not fit or fall out of a basket with less depth. Tall baskets can also help boost sales by encouraging customers to grab additional items along their shopping journey — it takes more to fill up a tall basket than a standard basket. That said, not all customers will want or be able to carry a tall basket that’s filled to capacity. Once again, this is why such stores are wise to provide carts for their customers as well. The more options they have and the more comfortable their trip, the better.

Deep Shopping Baskets

When it comes to basket shapes, you can always go deeper — as in vertical. The key advantage of these bucket-like baskets is that they are often slimmer than even standard baskets while offering even more room. The main drawback, of course, is that their elongated nature makes them harder to carry around the store, especially for shorter and less mobile individuals. This is why many of these deep baskets actually have wheels. In this way, these rolling shopping baskets act as hybrids between baskets and carts, allowing customers to choose how they navigate the store (carrying or pushing/pulling) while offering plenty of space to load up.

Large Shopping Baskets

You might find that the standard basket shape is right for your store but that the size of these standard baskets doesn’t quite cut it for the average customer purchase or the size of the products you carry. The simple solution to this dilemma is to invest in large baskets. These baskets are simply scaled-up versions of the standard models, offering a similar or identical ratio between length, height, and width. Bigger baskets will take up more space in your store, so you have to take storage and aisle size into account. But if you have the room for these and they’re necessary for your business’ needs, big baskets are the way to go (note that at Good L Corp., we delineate between Large Baskets and Big Baskets, the latter being bigger than the former).

Shaping Up for the Best Shopping Experience

It’s easy to take shopping baskets for granted, but the size and shape of these vessels truly makes a difference in your business’ overall success. So, take some time to find the right custom shopping baskets for your store’s needs — Good L Corp. is here to help, and we have a variety of basket and cart types to choose from.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.