And they're relatively cheap, too. Wal-Mart, with 2,941 U.S. stores, owns 1.6 million carts. Sears spends 10 times that much annually on advertising. Beyond mere convenience, there are psychic returns. Few sounds are as satisfying as the thump, thump, thump of a shopping cart's wheels rolling across a tile floor, the tone deepening as the cart fills up and becomes heavier.
Carts provide personal space between shoppers.
And the angry shopper can bang into another's cart, releasing rage with no harm done. To be sure, the unattended cart poses a danger. Two-thirds were treated for head injuries. The grocery industry responded by installing little seat belts. From Page B1 E-mail this story to a friend.