VML Malaysia helps Lotus’s turn trolley returns into shopper rewards with Drop Cart Draw

Drop Cart Draw addresses the everyday frustration caused when shoppers leave their carts scattered across parking bays. Beyond blocking parking spaces and limiting cart availability, abandoned carts create pre-store friction that often forces shoppers to use smaller baskets or carry items by hand. This hinders their ability to complete planned lists and make impulse purchases, which ultimately reduces basket size and impacts the overall shopping experience.

Lotus’s and VML’s campaign is rooted in the viral Shopping Cart Theory, which suggests that returning a cart is a simple, voluntary act of social responsibility – precisely because it offers no immediate reward – and indicates a person’s morality (or lack thereof, for those who don’t return carts.)

Drop Cart Draw was born out of an effort to incentive the socially selfless behaviour, not by relying on signage or enforcement but through rewards. Shoppers who return their carts to designated bays are compensated with a chance to receive randomly generated vouchers or loyalty points, redeemable on their next purchase at Lotus’s.

By transforming cart returns into a moment of value exchange, the campaign encourages positive behaviour while delivering tangible benefits to both shoppers and the retailer. For customers, it adds unexpected value to a routine task. For Lotus’s, it improves parking flow, cart availability, and repeat visitation.

The campaign is a testament to Lotus’s commitment to proactively providing care to shoppers. The initiative connects a small but critical customer experience moment in the car park which translates to in-store behaviour and commerce outcomes, demonstrating how thoughtful experience design can grow both loyalty and basket size.

“We saw abandoned carts not just as an operational issue, but as a behavioural opportunity. This idea was born from VML’s belief in a ‘Human First’ creative approach, taking on and coming from considering the pain point of the shopper at its purest form. Through creative alchemy, we’ve successfully flipped the script, transforming a point of friction into an incentivized experience that directly translates to better basket size and commercial success. When we design from a Human First perspective, even a trolley return can become a simple, connected brand experience that people actually enjoy,” said Phoecus Lee, Executive Creative Director at VML Malaysia.

“Drop Cart Draw is a clear example of how we are translating behavioural insights into commercial advantage. By rewarding responsibility, we eliminate pre-store friction, ensure our shoppers can complete their lists and make impulse purchases, and enhance the overall brand experience. It’s a simple program that drives loyalty and better business results and shows how partnering with the right creative and experience experts can connect everyday customer behaviours to long-term brand growth,” said Deon Lee, Customer and Marketing Director.

The campaign turns a universal retail inconvenience into a simple win-win system – where courtesy is rewarded, frustration is reduced, and better shopping experiences begin before customers even step inside the store.