Target removes 'nightmare' kids' carts that shoppers called 'vehicles of mass destruction'
The company rolled out the mini carts to 72 stores in August, hoping that they would entertain Target's youngest guests - and, in turn, please its core demographic of shoppers: parents.
But the shopping carts turned out to be a spectacular failure for many parents.
Kids went wild with the carts, dumping shelves of merchandise into them and slamming them into other shoppers at top speed, bruising their ankles, The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports.
One blogger called the carts "vehicles of mass destruction" and said they turned her previously "magical" shopping experience at Target into "madness."
She called her post, which has been viewed more than 230,000 times, "MASTC" for "Mothers Against Stupid Tiny Carts."
The carts were rolled out at 50 stores in Minnesota and 22 stores in New York. Many other shoppers complained about them as well, according to the Star-Tribune.
"They make shopping trips into torture!" shopper Lizzy Charles wrote on Facebook. "Especially with three kids, all wanting their own tiny cart, triple the headache. Or fighting over one! I abandoned purchasing anything and focused on survival."
Not all shoppers hated the carts, however. Many said they made shopping with kids easier.
One parent wrote on Facebook that the carts were "great for keeping the kids busy and motivated to help out." Another said his child burst into tears when they visited Target this week and noticed that the carts had been removed.
But the critics were greater in number, so Target decided to remove them from stores after a few short weeks of availability, the company said.
"At Target, our guests are at the center of everything we do, and we value their feedback," Target spokeswoman Kristy Welker told Business Insider. "We briefly tested kiddie carts at 72 Target stores, and after reviewing guest and stores feedback, we have made the decision to stop the test."