If you’re trying to get more items in a sale, remember one of the most basic of things to consider for your customer – the ease of the shopping experience. This is where the magic of a shopping cart (or a basket) comes into play.

Simply put, “you need to fill it up” – that’s just how the brain works as discussed in one of my favorite books – Why We Buy (The Science of Shopping) by Paco Underhill.

This is the reason why somehow, that very considerate employee managed to find you a basket when you were only intending to buy a roll of tape. No wait, make that two rolls. And while you’re at it, maybe you need a new pair of scissors since the one you have at home is becoming dull. Next thing you know, you find yourself in another section of the store trying to pick some things you might need, since you still have some space in that basket. Sounds familiar?

Same application with a supermarket or grocery. Go ahead and simply buy the stuff you need and not bother with a cart. You’ll find yourself rushing to the cashier to check out as your hands become full. That is probably until somebody offers you a cart.

I’ve seen this work personally and very effectively.

The Salcedo Market happens every Saturday in Salcedo Park, Makati City. It’s a great place to simply go out and find organic and other exotic goods primarily run by residents in the area. We’ve been here countless times buying things we don’t really see much in the commercial market. We stop by one to three stalls, get what we need, then walk out.

Last Saturday though was a different case – I started seeing shopping carts in the streets. Turns out the market finally started offering shopping carts, free of use. Next thing we know, we were checking each and every stall, checking what’s up, not thinking of the hassle of manually carrying each plastic bag, rather, just tossing in what we managed to buy.

Despite the fact that I know what was going on, it was simply a nice and hassle-free method of spending a Saturday. It made the shopping experience much more comfortable and worth-while.

Of course, such an addition is mainly applicable to a physical store. When it comes to an e-commerce set-up, it’s more of making your store easier to browse around, and your cart easier to use towards the checkout process to close that sale, but that’s another topic. For now, just make sure you educate your sales men to assist and provide a way for your clients and customers to browse through your shop and easily carry what they need, and what they’d eventually want.

Simple, easy, effective.