Why Don't People Return Their Shopping Carts? A Scientific Investigation

Re:Why Don't People Return Their Shopping Carts? A Scientifi... by ninkendo on Monday November 17, 2025 @09:33PM (#45960771)

> Is this a US phenomenon?

The answer to this question is always “no”. Regardless of the subject. Basically 100% of the time.

At my local grocery store everyone returns their carts. In the other place in the US I lived 10 years ago, there were loose carts everywhere.

The US is a very, very big country. Really more like 50 big countries. With huge variation in culture, income, background, etc. There’s barely anything you can say that applies to the whole country, regardless of the subject.

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Re:Why Don't People Return Their Shopping Carts? A Scientifi... by binary132 on Monday November 17, 2025 @10:01PM (#45960939)

someone clever ought to do some kind of statistical analysis and figure out what hidden variables are causing these differences.

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Re:Why Don't People Return Their Shopping Carts? A Scientifi... by cocainemonster on Tuesday November 18, 2025 @02:12AM (#45962254)

what are you hinting towards?

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Re:Why Don't People Return Their Shopping Carts? A Scientifi... by Jackson__ on Tuesday November 18, 2025 @03:05AM (#45962564)

what are you hinting towards?

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Re:Why Don't People Return Their Shopping Carts? A Scientifi... by jewayne on Tuesday November 18, 2025 @10:38AM (#45967666)

what are you hinting towards??

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Re:Why Don't People Return Their Shopping Carts? A Scientifi... by triceratops on Tuesday November 18, 2025 @08:56PM (#45974973)

> what hidden variables are causing these differences

Just one variable: the Jerk Scale.

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Re:Why Don't People Return Their Shopping Carts? A Scientifi... by gverrilla on Tuesday November 18, 2025 @06:36AM (#45963786)

It was never said that it was a phenomenon on the whole country.

It is a US phenomenom yes. When it exists in other countries it's because of Hollywood exporting american culture.

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Re:Why Don't People Return Their Shopping Carts? A Scientifi... by cafard on Tuesday November 18, 2025 @11:12AM (#45968142)

I'm trying to think back to the last time I saw a shopping cart in a movie. I think it was probably Terms of Endearment, but I don't think that the cart made it outside.

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Re:Why Don't People Return Their Shopping Carts? A Scientifi... by s1artibartfast on Tuesday November 18, 2025 @12:38PM (#45969442)

Is that really your position? to you ascribe all bad behavior globally to US cultural exports?

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Re:Why Don't People Return Their Shopping Carts? A Scientifi... by gverrilla on Tuesday November 18, 2025 @02:22PM (#45970734)

not all bad behavior. why this generalizing frenzy?? lmao

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Re:Why Don't People Return Their Shopping Carts? A Scientifi... by s1artibartfast on Tuesday November 18, 2025 @05:17PM (#45972988)

Just seems wild to blame USA for exporting cart culture? What's the mechanism with Hollywood? I missed the marvel extended shopping cart universe.

Where did the USA import cart culture from? Mexico?

It seems likely to me that many countries are capable of domestically manufacturing selfish assholes.

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