Walmart To Offer Carts For Shoppers With Disabilities At Every Store
The nation’s largest retailer is planning to provide special carts at every one of its locations designed to alleviate the need for caregivers to push both a cart and a wheelchair while shopping.
Walmart said it will offer Caroline’s Cart at all of its roughly 4,600 stores in the U.S. by January.
Caroline’s Cart looks like a typical shopping cart, but it includes a large seat with a five-point harness that faces the person pushing the cart. The seat can accommodate people weighing between 35 and 250 pounds.
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Each Supercenter will have at least two carts, Walmart said, and Neighborhood Market stores will have a minimum of one, though stores can request more.
Previously, only about 20% of Walmart stores had the specialized carts, the company indicated.
“The decision to expand to all stores is a reflection of Walmart’s commitment to diversity and inclusion as well as responding to feedback from our associates and customers,” a company spokesperson said.
Walmart officials said they started distributing between 500 and 1,000 Caroline’s Carts each month to stores in May and will continue to do so through January.
With the change, Walmart said it expects to have more than 8,000 Caroline’s Carts across its network of U.S. locations.
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