Why Does Aldi Charge a Quarter to Use Their Shopping Carts?

Those who shop at other major grocery stores like Walmart, Kroger, or Trader Joe’s might be shocked when they enter Aldi for the first time. Rather than simply grabbing a cart from the corral, shoppers must first insert a quarter to access the handy objects.

Aldi charges a quarter per shopping cart so it can actually save its customers money. According to the official website, the 25-cent requirement makes it much more likely that shoppers will return carts to corrals to get their quarters back. Because of this rule, Aldi doesn’t need to hire staff members to collect abandoned carts. As a result, Aldi stores and parking lots are largely cart-free, and groceries remain affordable.  

But what do you do if you forget a quarter at Aldi? Daily Meal suggests simply asking an employee for a coin. According to the source, many customers swear by the hack, and a few Reddit users claim that Aldi staff members can hand out $5 worth of quarters to customers. The policy is ideal, as workers don’t have to deal with shoppers complaining about carrying everything to their vehicles without a cart.

You can also ask another shopper for a quarter. People usually understand the struggle of looking for spare change when coming to Aldi’s, so you’ll likely find someone willing to help. Some kind customers will even leave 25 cents for the next person who forgets to bring change. (Aldi also has a keychain quarter holder for 99 cents for those worried about forgetting a coin.)

You might have heard of a hack that involves sticking the back of your house key into the cart slot to unlock it. But this isn’t such a good idea. According to All Recipes, Aldi employees tend to switch carts during checkout. If you forget to ask for the cart with your key, you could end up losing it. There’s also the possibility of your key getting stuck or damaged, so it’s best always to use a quarter to unlock carts at Aldi. 

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