I used to return the cart when the concept was "return the cart to avoid the grocery store having to hire someone to collect carts, increasing their overhead, thus raising prices".

Then we learned, at least in Canada, that the grocery chains kept prices high after the pandemic well after the supply chains settled down. They even did a second wave of higher prices. They are price gouging so much they've never seen such high profits.

They have also made a move to get rid of regular checkout, pushing robotic checkout so they don't have to hire humans and they can increase their profits even further.

The shopping cart question used to pose itself as "do you help society and return your cart if there is no reward for you."

Let's rephrase it. "Will you do free labour for a multi-million dollar company who is laughing all the way to the bank with record profits while some people in society are going hungry because they can't afford the higher prices?"

I NEVER return my cart now.