Load 'em up...move 'em out

Do you ever use the shopping baskets at the grocery store?

They're great if you want to run in and grab a few items without trying to juggling a bunch of items on your way to the checkout.

I've noticed a trend over the past years. The baskets are getting bigger and bigger.

Check out these pictures taken from my local grocery store. Over the past two years as they have received new baskets they haven't thrown out the old ones. As a result there are four generations of baskets at the store.

Each new generation of basket is taller, wider and longer the the last. The new ones don't stack inside the old ones.

It makes sense...from the store's perspective. The bigger the basket...the more food a customer can put inside...the more they spend.

Yet there is a limit. The new baskets are so large that I've noticed people struggling to carry the bulging baskets around the store. They walk around with the basket bouncing off of their hip.

I though that I had surely seen the end of the growing basket size until this week.

The store now has new shopping cart like containers built for the baskets. Instead of a bulky shopping cart these new containers are sleeker and easier to push. All you have to do is place your basket on top and off you go.

Whether it's baskets at the grocery store, loaders at Costco, or additional book recommendations upon checking out at Amazon.com companies are selling us more and more during a single visit.

Is this a good thing...or bad? Let me know your thoughts. info@jasonsteinle.com