Do supermarkets accommodate the parent with no transport?

[lee72]

Hi
Does anyone have to pick up groceries and does not have their own transport?
I am a father of 2 and fortunately have never realised their may be a problem. However, when my wife said she used to struggle to push the buggy round whilst trying to fill a shopping basket I started to observe this and have seen many parents with the same dilemma. I am currently studying with the OU completing a design and innovation module and was thinking of exploring this area to see if an improvement, no matter how small could be implemented.
Does anyone else find this a struggle?
What are your thoughts for an improvement other than the buggy park which many supermarkets will not introduce and hanging bags off the handles?
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

I used to sling the smallest and then put them in a trolley (baby and child trolleys are fab), which I'd get a member of staff to find. I'd ring a taxi from the freephone. Only live about a mile away so costs about £3, but usually give them £4.

A trolley that works with a pushchair like you can get for wheelchairs would be good though.

Brilliant, I've been wanting someone to do this. I only have this problem when I walk to the shops then realise I am hampered by the buggy so can only buy the minimum.

It's really difficult to navigate the aisles (especially in the smaller high street branches) of the supermarket with a pushchair/pram whilst holding a basket too. On a sturdier pushchair I can usually hang the basket from the handles although woe betide anyone who is in my way as I take out everyone I walk past! On a lightweight pushchair this can't happen as it will tip over. The pull along baskets are great with the lightweight buggy but impossible with the sturdier one as it can't be steered one handed.

When you buy a pushchair you are usually ill equipped to imagine every eventuality and usually choose based on baby's comfort (no surprise!) rather than your local shop layout

I don't know if you can design anything to put on prams/pushchairs as they are all so different. Maybe a better version of the pull along basket with a clip for the pushchair frame?

It's not about getting the stuff home, it's about carrying your shopping in the supermarket. It all fits under the pushchair on the way home but you can't always balance stuff on buggy hoods etc. I don't like to shop online as I live a five minute walk from 3 supermarkets (two of which don't offer online shopping) and if I get it delivered it comes from a store 20 miles away - not exactly eco-friendly.

I always used to struggle with this.

Some sort of basket to attach to the buggy handles would have been ideal - though my buggy had one bar rather than handles, you'd need something that would attach to that as well.

I used to hang my own net bag on the buggy, but was always a bit worried I would be accused of shoplifting.

Those handheld scanners where you scan and pack as you go, then just pay at the end, are a good solution, but you still have to squeeze your pushchair down narrow aisles.

Thanks for all your comments. I was initially toying with the idea of a pull along basket that served as a dual function that could be attached to the buggy and the basket section raised to a comfortable usable height. I'm pleased some have gone through a similar thought process and some good ideas have been generated giving plenty of food for thought! Many thanks

Not sure how much food you go through Brian but a weekly for all of us couldn't get under a pushchair.