Penis chip for shopping carts: Salzgitter makes you smile!

Penis chip for shopping carts: Salzgitter makes you smile!

In Salzgitter and the surrounding area, customers of Aldi, Lidl and other supermarkets could soon be looking forward to an amusing discovery. A creative mind from the region, Andree, has an unconventional solution to the well-known problem with shopping cart chips. Instead of struggling with the annoying search for a coin or a chip, he wants to make you smile with a special gimmick.

His idea is to make 200 penis-shaped shopping cart chips using a 3D printer. These should fit exactly into the slots of the shopping carts from Aldi, Lidl and Co. While he's shopping, Andree plans to distribute these chips wildly in the slots of the cart. The aim is not only to put a smile on customers' faces, but also to make the annoying chip search easier. A thoroughly humorous approach that at the same time ties in with common shopping cart practice, where people used to often rummage through their bags looking for the right chip.

Background to shopping behavior

Shopping carts have long been indispensable in supermarkets and make it easier to transport groceries to the checkout or to the car. But the lack of shopping carts has an influence on purchasing behavior that should not be underestimated. Customers tend to shop less when they don't have a car available. For this reason, both consumers and retailers are increasingly looking for digital solutions to improve the shopping experience.

The deposit system, which has been established in many supermarkets since the 1980s, has significantly reduced the loss of shopping carts. In the past, numerous employees were hired to collect abandoned shopping carts, which were often left on sidewalks or in neighboring gardens. Today, many customers value getting their deposit coin back, which psychologically contributes to returning the cars responsibly. The introduction of deposit locks therefore has both financial and psychological effects on consumers.

The future of the shopping cart

The appearance and functionality of shopping carts have changed little since the 1980s, but there are bright spots in the form of innovation. Manufacturers like Wanzl are already developing digital shopping carts that can be unlocked with smartphones or smartwatches, making traditional coins and chips unnecessary. In this regard, Aldi, Lidl and Rewe are faced with the challenge of developing further and enabling their customers to make contemporary purchases.

A study by the University of Innsbruck reveals further interesting aspects. Researchers Mathias Streicher and Zachary Estes found that shopping cart design has a direct impact on customer spending behavior. Customers with shopping carts that have parallel handles spend an average of 34 euros, while standardized carts only bring in an average of 26 euros. The reason? The design activates different muscle groups in consumers, which influences the way they think about shopping.

The study's findings show how important physical design is in retail. Your attitude and willingness to spend are influenced not only by the product range, but also by the design of your shopping cart. A nice example of how a simple design can increase customer satisfaction and ultimately sales.

How Andree's ideas will ultimately impact the shopping experience remains to be seen. There will certainly be one or two smiles - and perhaps a new trend that will find its way into the shopping carts of many supermarkets.

For further information on the problem surrounding shopping cart chips and their future, take a look at the detailed reports from derwesten.de, chip.de and it-boltwise.de.