Discount stores and grocery stores have them. Electronics stores and home improvement stores have them, too. Shopping carts are a part of shopping just as much as store shelves and the checkout counter. But often they are confusingly similar to each other. For the layman they mostly just differ by the logo on the handle. However a look back reveals: The history of shopping carts brought several changes and even now things are happening. The world of shopping carts is getting more colorful.

Caddie from Strasbourg, France, counts itself among the market leaders for transport solutions for retail, airports, the hotel industry, manufacturing and hospitals. The company, which is active in more than 100 countries introduced new shopping carts with removable canvas bags at the EuroShop and also showcased different plastic shopping carts. Are the days of the metal shopping carts soon numbered?

The metal works company J. D. Geck from Altena in Germany’s Sauerland region has expanded its range of products and joins the market for shopping carts. The response at the EuroShop was great, says Sales manager Volker Köller. He believes that there still is a lot that speaks in favor of shopping carts made of metal. Geck utilizes its experience in surface finishing for its new products. The company expects about 60 million Euros in total revenue in 2011 and manufactures in 4 factories in Germany.