Pound in the trolley?

[DingleyDel]

Having a slightly drunken argument with dh. We are both early 30s. He swears that a staple memory of his childhood was putting a pound in the supermarket trolley, IN ALL SUPERMARKETS!! I swear this was never a thing until Aldi and Lidl arrived in the U.K. I swear I remember news articles about how great they were but you had to have a pound for the trolley, it was so notable. I don’t remember ever putting a £ in the trolley in my childhood. I grew upon the SE, Dh in the SW. was it really a common thing in the 90s?

YABU pound in the trolley was completely normal

YANB pound in the trolley was introduced by Lidl/ Aldi

@GrandDuchessRomanov

I can't honestly remember but I can remember having to use a penny for public toilets.

Showing my age now!

I was super excited to find I can now do a contactless pee!

Yes they did before aldi appeared.

Your wrong he’s right !

Wayyyyy before Aldi/Lidl- think Somerville & Iceland were my local ones.
Not Kwiks tho

Even if it was introduced by Aldi/Lidl, they were around in the 90s so it would fit with both your memories. I remember using an Aldi where I lived in 1993 (only lived there for about six months so can date it). I didn't have a car at the time so would only have used a basket so can't remember about trolley tokens. I also used to shop at Netto where I lived a bit earlier, but I'm not 100% sure on that.

A quick google says Aldi and Netto opened in the UK in 1990 and Lidl in 1994.

Scotland late 80s/90s. I remember pound coins in the trollies in kwik save and food giant.

Same as today - dodgy areas require pounds in trolleys

Cheaper super markets even in nicer areas need a pound in the trolley

Basically - if chaos are going to steal them or high risk of them being dumped in a canal it requires a pound

@BoredZelda

I'm in Scotland and remember needing a pound coin in the 80s

You sure it was £1? The £coin was only introduced in 1983. And we kept £notes in Scotland for a really long time.

I recall 10p and 50p coin trolleys over the years, the £1 are definitely more in the last 20 years or so.

I'm not the person you're replying to but pound coins were definitely used in trolleys in the 80s. I remember me and my friends coming across stray trollies now and again and thinking we'd won the jackpot because we knew there would be a point coin in them. We would traipse them back to the shop to retrieve the pound coin. This would've been late 80s.

I've lived in the UK for 26years and remember needing a £1 for the trolley.
Periodically I still need £1 for a trolley and am somehow surprised

It did, and still does, depend on where you live. Our local Tesco, no £, the one 7 miles away, £ required. Both market towns, similar size places and stores. Arguably we live in the “posher” one. Because our local one doesn’t need it I always forget.

Defo a pound in the trolley at Safeways as my mum would let me keep it if I put the trolley back in the bay safely

Kwiksave had trolleys that needed a coin.

I grew up in Essex. Definitely had to put the pound in the trolley at all supermarkets. Me and my brother used to argue who's turn it was.

You are wrong OP. Most supermarkets needed a pound for the trolley in the 80s and 90s (and I lived in a nice area)! I remember my son who is in his 30s, used to get to keep the pound when he took the trolley back, when he went shopping with my mum!

Can't remember but only a few by me require them now.

I think it is more about getting people to stack up trolleys in the designated area rather than worrying about people throwing them in cannels.

I'm mid 30s and definitely have memories of Sainsburys needing £. Grew up in north London. I think Safeway also did?

Sainsburys which is local to me still needs a £1 coin
Asda used to I'm sure

Asda had them where I live until Covid. None of the other supermarkets here did.

I'm late 30s and we had an aldi in our town centre in the mid 90s. We had to use a quid for the trolley then

I can use old pound coins, new ones, one euro and plastic tokens from Auchan in our local Sainsbury’s trollies.

Kwiksave always had them. They did the best powdery sugar doughnuts.

I'm in the North West and always remember putting £1 in the trolley. My mum used to shop at a variety of supermarkets - Iceland, safe way, morrisons, tesco, asda, kwik save and farmfoods. I always remember taking the trolley back to keep the pound..

On a side note I remember really loving asda as they had a cow scene near the milk and chickens near the eggs. You could press a button and it made the animal sound. Dh doesn't believe me but I do remember it!

I remember the new Safeway opening in our town mid 90s and their trollies needing £1 coins, it was a big deal and much talked about!

I remember the pound in the trolley in Safeway. I haven't seen that supermarket for about 30 years!

I remember being a young child and me and my brother fighting over who got to put the coin in the trolley (we were clearly easily entertained) so that would have been early 90's and I think it was at the Coop in Slough?

Yeah it has been totally normal for decades. I grew up in London an everywhere I've lived since has had coin trollies.