When you think about your supermarket, many factors contribute to its atmosphere and reputation – the variety of items you sell, your prices, your customer service, and so on. Compared to these things, you might not think all that much about your shopping baskets. However, the shopping baskets you provide for your customers can have a bigger impact on your bottom line and overall image than you first realize. Not every one of your customers will grab a basket upon entering your store, but those who do will start and end their shopping journey with one of these important vessels. As such, the way your baskets look, feel, and function deeply informs the broader shopping experience. Knowing this, you can strategically select shopping baskets that stand to benefit your business at every level. 

Here are some things your supermarket shopping baskets might say about your store.

Benefits of Custom Shopping Baskets

Show Off Your Brand

For starters, your store shopping baskets provide the perfect canvas to display your brand colors and logo. These aesthetic concerns won’t make a difference in terms of functionality, but there’s no denying that custom, branded shopping baskets leave a stronger impression than bland, non-descript vessels. Stocking your store with uniform baskets that match your branding will help you create a more cohesive, memorable location and experience. Even if most customers don’t directly pay much attention to these matters, the overall effect can be powerful, reinforcing your brand image and driving home your attention to detail.

Encourage Certain Styles of Shopping

Your shopping baskets can do more for your business than strengthen its branding, of course. Not all baskets are created equal in terms of shape and size – some are larger, some are smaller, some are taller, etc. The type of baskets you provide for your customers should suit the types of items you sell, broadly speaking. In other words, your supermarket shopping baskets will suggest something about your offerings. You probably won’t find large baskets in small boutique shops that mostly sell jewelry and other small goods, but you might find them at larger retailers who sell a variety of items (many of them on the bulkier side). Likewise, if you want your customers to fill up their baskets with many items, you won’t want to saddle them with smaller baskets. 

If you’re wondering, “do shopping baskets increase sales?” the answer is, “yes, if you’re strategic.” When customers have more space to place their goods along their journey, they’re more likely to purchase some additional items. Of course, if they gather too much, their basket may become too heavy to carry. Providing shopping carts and/or rolling shopping baskets is one way to solve this issue. Most customers will know their limits from the outset, however, and select a vessel that matches their basic needs. The baskets you provide should be optimized for your average customer to maximize potential sales.

You Care About the Customer Experience

It’s not enough to provide most of your customers with the right-sized, right-shaped baskets for their shopping trips, however – you must also ensure that every customer who enters has access to the vessel(s) they’re looking for. If your supermarket lacks an adequate number of shopping baskets, the message is sent that you’re not prepared and that you don’t value each and every one of your customers. Though some situations are out of your hands, it’s always good to have a stock of back-up baskets (and carts) to avoid such scenarios. 

Additionally, it’s smart to place your baskets in key areas around your store. It makes sense to have baskets at your store’s entrance and exit, but you should also put some in the center and corners of your store so customers can quickly grab one if they decide they need one later on. Few customers will want to trek all the way back to the front of the store to grab a basket (especially if their hands are already full). Going this extra mile tells your customers that you care about their experience while simultaneously encouraging larger purchases and impulse sales.

You Care About Quality

Finally, your supermarket shopping baskets may indicate something about your commitment to quality and your willingness to invest in your own business. We’ve all entered stores with beaten up, flimsy baskets. Even if a handful of these vessels serve their purpose, they don’t exactly leave a positive impression, either. Providing your customers with durable, clean, brand-coherent shopping baskets says that you’re not willing to cheap out even on the smaller details – and if you care this much about the integrity of your baskets, customers will assume (and likely witness) that you care equally as much about other aspects of your business. Next time you’re on a shopping spree, do a little supermarket shopping basket comparison and note how it affects your immediate sentiment regarding a given store. It will quickly become clear how important the quality of shopping baskets and carts really is.

If Shopping Baskets Could Speak

In many ways, your shopping baskets are the unsung heroes of your supermarket – without them, your customers would have a harder time gathering what they need, and your business would have a harder time making sales. Beyond this basic function, however, the appearance, size, shape, placement, and quality of your shopping carts speak volumes about your business as a whole. With all this in mind, is it time to purchase new and improved baskets for your store?

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!