Colruyt places wheel lock on shopping trolleys after wave of thefts

Belgian supermarket chain Colruyt is increasingly equipping its stores with shopping trolleys that have a bright orange wheel lock. The system locks as soon as a customer leaves the store’s car park, to prevent theft.

From savings to security

For years, Colruyt proudly called itself as the chain that did not place coin locks on shopping trolleys. In 2010, the company even advertised this on its trolleys, with a message saying: “We do not put a coin lock on this trolley. Savings: 14 euros per trolley. One less cost, and you can see the difference on your receipt.” With 45,000 trolleys in circulation at the time, this amounted to a saving of approximately 630,000 euros, local newspaper Gazet van Antwerpen calculated.