Coin-operated shopping carts are way more controversial than we thought.
Last month, a TikToker went viral with an unconfirmed claim that Canadian Walmart stores would start charging $1 to use their shopping carts. This rumor caused a furor among Walmart shoppers, mostly based on a misunderstanding of how coin-operated carts actually work.
In reality, you get the coin back when you return the cart. This small deposit is an anti-theft measure, and it’s commonplace in other countries like the U.K.—although it isn’t really a thing at American Walmarts. At any rate, this rumor is still going strong, sparking another viral TikTok sharing a lifehack on how to avoid spending money on shopping carts.
Now viewed more than 1.5 million times, this TikTok by user Amy Snowden (@disconipplechops91) is captioned, “so apparently walmart is gonna start charging to use carts like Aldi…just use a rolling laundry tote phuck em…”
“You ain’t gonna catch me participating in this bullshit,” she says in the clip, explaining her solution. “I will take my fat disgruntled ass over to the housewares department and I will grab a rolling sterilite laundry bin.” Then she’ll use the laundry bin as a shopping cart, and leave it at the counter when she’s finished shopping. Problem solved!
@disconipplechops91 #stitch with @soulforgepodcast so apparently walmart is gonna start charging to use carts like Aldi…just use a rolling laundry tote phuck em… #walmartsucks ♬ original sound – Amy Snowden
This TikTok prompted a mixed response from viewers, in part because it seems to misunderstand the idea of “charging” to use shopping carts.
“The coin in the cart is to unlock the cart and to teach you to return it and lock it up again to get your coin back,” explains the top commenter.
Others pointed out that even if the original TikTok rumor is true, it’s irrelevant to US shoppers. “This is for Walmart in Canada, how often do you see $1 coins in the US? Figure it out,” one commenter wrote.
Meanwhile, someone else had a less labor-intensive life hack. “Or you can just use that key thing that opens up a spam can. It works. I use it all the time,” they suggested. In countries like the U.K. where shopping carts usually have this kind of coin-operated lock, some people carry keyrings with a coin-shaped token instead.
For the most part, commenters focused on the original issue of whether Walmart was actually “charging” to use shopping carts at all. But one person also had a bone to pick with the whole laundry basket suggestion. “If you get a laundry basket and leave it at checkout, you’re only making a poor worker’s job harder. Not the people making these rules,” they said.
Still, there’s no evidence that U.S. Walmart stores are introducing these coin-operated carts in the first place.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @disconipplechops91 via TikTo comment.
