Guide · · Children's Shopping Trolleys
How many children's shopping trolleys your store needs, and where to put them
A children's shopping trolley is a 17 L to 50 L trolley a child pushes beside the parent, and guide prices start from £11 ex VAT, bulk price. Most stores begin with one short rank at the busiest entrance, set beside the adult trolley bay rather than nested inside it, then add a second rank once staff see how many go out at the weekend peak. Capacity, handle height, castor type, colour and branding are all set on your written quote, because every trolley is made to order.
Where does a children's shopping trolley belong on the shop floor?
A children's shopping trolley earns its keep in one position: the entrance, in its own short rank beside the adult trolley bay. A parent collecting a 160 L trolley sees the small ones at the same moment and hands one over without breaking stride.
Two placements look sensible and are not. Nesting the small trolleys inside the adult rank hides them, and the first parent to pull an adult trolley out drags a child's trolley along with it. Parking them halfway down the store, near the toy or cereal aisle, means a child picks one up when the parent already has a full basket, so it gets abandoned in the aisle and a member of staff walks it back.
Keep the rank clear of fire exits, out of the till queue line and off the door mat where it would block the flow at opening time. If the store has two entrances, split the batch between them rather than doubling it.
How many should you order for your store
There is no formula for this, and anyone who offers you one is guessing. The useful approach is a first batch small enough to be an easy decision and large enough to tell you something: one rank at the busiest entrance, kept full for a month.
Count the rank twice a day for a fortnight. If it is empty by mid morning every day, the store will carry a second rank. If half of them never move, the position is wrong before the quantity is wrong, so try the other entrance before ordering more. Staff on the tills will tell you the rest, because they see which trolleys arrive loaded and which arrive empty.
Family footfall climbs through the run up to Christmas, so a batch specified now gets tested in the weeks that matter rather than in a quiet February. There are 50 children's trolley listings on the range page and any quantity can be quoted.
Mini, junior or ride in: which type fits which store
Three shapes cover almost every shop floor. The difference that matters is not the capacity in the specification, it is who pushes the trolley and how much room it needs to turn.
| Type | Capacity | Where it works | Guide price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mini push along, steel or galvanised | 17 L | Convenience, small shops, cash and carry entrances | from £11 ex VAT, bulk price |
| Junior push along | 50 L | Supermarkets, wider aisles, older children | from £20 ex VAT, bulk price |
| Adjustable handle cart | Varies | Stores covering a wide age mix on one rank | from £20 ex VAT, bulk price |
| Ride in car trolley, pushed by the parent | Adult basket | Mall concourse, large family stores | from £156 ex VAT, bulk price |
A 17 L galvanised mini trolley is the volume choice: light enough for a four year old to steer, short enough to nest tightly, and inexpensive enough that a damaged one is replaced without a conversation. The ride in car trolley is a different purchase altogether. The parent pushes it, the child sits in it, and it needs aisle width, turning room at the end of each run and a wide till lane. Put one in a narrow store and it will sit in the bay.
What to check before you buy
- Handle height. A fixed handle suits one age band. An adjustable handle covers a wider spread on the same rank, which matters when you only want to stock one type.
- Castors. 75 mm PVC wheels are quiet and quick to replace. Grey rubber is kinder to a polished or tiled floor and leaves no marks, so ask for non marking wheels in writing if your floor is light coloured.
- Nesting. Confirm the trolleys nest rather than stack, and measure the rank you already have before you fix the quantity.
- Finish. Galvanised steel takes damp and knocks better than paint on its own, and powder coat over galvanising gives you the colour and the protection together. Plastic baskets wipe clean and never rust, which makes them the easier choice near fresh produce or butchery.
- Flag or raised handle. A low trolley is invisible to an adult looking at shelves. A flag pole or a tall handle fixes that, and the pole is a replaceable part rather than part of the frame.
- Edges and welds. Everything a child touches should be rolled, capped or coated. Ask for photographs of the welds, the handle and the basket rim before dispatch.
- Colour and branding. Store colours and a printed handle panel are specified at order and priced on the quote.
Keeping a children's trolley rank working
Children's trolleys fail in three places, in this order: castors, handle grips, flag poles. All three are bolt on or clip on parts, so a trolley with a seized wheel is a ten minute job at the back of the store rather than a write off. Keep a small box of spares from the spare parts range behind the service desk and the rank stays full.
Give the rank a weekly walk past: spin every wheel, pull every handle, look for a missing flag and a split grip. A trolley that pulls to one side has a seized castor, not a bent frame, nine times out of ten. Wash them with the detergent you already use on the adult trolleys and dry the welds afterwards, because water standing inside a tube is what starts rust on a painted finish.
Do not weld a cracked basket. A replacement mini trolley is from £11 ex VAT, bulk price, which is less than the labour in a proper repair, and a repaired basket rarely nests squarely again.
Prices and getting a quote
Guide prices across the range run from £11 ex VAT, bulk price for a 17 L mini trolley up to £156 ex VAT, bulk price for a ride in car trolley. These are guide prices in pounds ex VAT, converted from the factory list, and they give you the order of magnitude rather than your final figure.
Every trolley is made to order, so the written quote is where the numbers become firm. It confirms the price for your quantity, freight to your site, duty, VAT and the lead time, and it holds for 30 days. Capacity, handle height, castor type, finish, colour and branding are all written on it, and each batch is inspected with photographs and video before dispatch. See the price guide for how the figures are built, or the adult shopping trolley range if you are specifying both at the same time.
Any quantity can be quoted, from one rank to a full store fit out, and the quote confirms the price for the quantity you ask about.
Children's trolleys in this guide
Questions people ask
How many children's trolleys should a store start with?
Order one rank for the busiest entrance, keep it full for a month and count how many are out at the weekend peak. That answers the question far better than any ratio, because it depends on your customers rather than your floor area.
Where should children's trolleys be kept?
In their own short rank at the entrance, beside the adult trolley bay rather than nested inside it. Trolleys parked mid store get picked up too late in the shop and end up abandoned in the aisles.
Do children's trolleys nest together?
Most mini and junior models nest, which is why a rank of them takes very little floor space. Check it on the specification, because a few moulded plastic bodies stack instead and need more room.
What does a children's shopping trolley cost?
Guide prices start from £11 ex VAT, bulk price for a 17 L mini trolley, with 50 L junior models from £20 ex VAT, bulk price. Your written quote confirms the price for the quantity you want.
Which castors suit a polished or tiled floor?
Grey rubber or non marking PVC wheels. They run quieter than hard nylon and they do not leave black lines on a light floor, which is the usual complaint after a month in service.
Can we buy replacement castors and handle grips on their own?
Yes. Castors, handle grips, flag poles and child seat belts are listed separately in the spare parts range, so a damaged trolley goes back on the rank instead of into a skip.
