Baskets

The long poles on the baskets are to keep them from being removed from the store. A shopping cart ranges in cost from $250 to $500 each, so if they are stolen or run over by a car it's a major loss that has to be passed on to the consumers. I have seen them not only on Ross shopping carts but also laundromat carts. Some stores have put sensors on the carts that sound an alarm when they are removed from the store. They also have sensors that lock the wheels when they cross the threshold of the store so that the carts can't be rolled any further. While the poles and sensors are annoying, I would rather put up with those than higher prices on the merchandise.