Practically everyone has been there. You're pushing a cart along in your favorite grocery store and everything seems fine. Then you hear it: The dreaded cart squeak. A moment later, one of the wheels develops a mind of its own, spinning this way and that. Next thing you know, you're dragging the cart like it's a stubborn mule.
Does it seem like every grocery store shopping cart has a broken wheel? Turns out, there's a good reason for that. Head to a pharmacy or a clothing store — rather than a grocery store — and the cart's wheels are typically far less rebellious.
Why? It's all in how folks use the carts that makes the difference.
Carts in stores with lighter shopping loads, like clothing stores and pharmacies, often stay inside the store rather than getting pushed into the parking lot. Customers can typically carry their purchases without assistance. Grocery store trips, however, often involve bigger loads, so customers are more prone to pushing carts out into the parking lot, according to CNN.
Outside, grocery carts are bombarded with rain and snow. Collisions are common, potholes are more ubiquitous, and the wheels collect much more dirt and debris. Crucially, the caster plates that attach the wheels to the cart can warp over time, which is perhaps the biggest reason the wheels go haywire.
Those carts are not cheap either. Stores can pay well over $200 per cart.